World Olympic Boxing qualifier: Nishant wins in first round, Shiva Thapa loses

World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev ended the torrid run of Indian boxers at the first World Olympic Boxing qualifier as he won in the first round of the event in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on Tuesday night.

Playing in the men's 71kg category, Nishant defeated Lewis Richardson of Great Britain 3-1.

Nishant didn’t take much time to settle in against the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Richardson and went into attacking mode from the word go, winning the first round 4-1.

The 23-year-old Indian became even more dominant in the second round with the help of his long reach and delivered some effective right hooks to win the second round 5-0 comfortably.

He put forward a controlled performance in the third round as well and avoided multiple attacks from his opponent while trying to protect his lead and ultimately won the bout with a split decision.

In the men's 63.5 kg category, six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa lost by Referee Stop Count (RSC) against reigning world champion Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev.

Ruslan, living up to his reputation with his pinpointed punches, penetrated Shiva’s defence multiple times, forcing the Indian pugilist to go into a defensive mode right from the start. The defensive approach didn’t last long as Abdullaev continued his attacking display before the referee stopped the contest in the first round.

Later tonight, the youth world champion Ankushita Boro (66kg) will face Sonvico Emilie of France while the national champion Sanjeet (92kg) will square off against Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan.

The first World Olympic boxing qualification tournament is hosting over 590 boxers and will offer 49 quota places, including 28 for men and 21 for women, for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Between 45 and 51 boxers will qualify through the second World Qualification Tournament, to be held in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3.

India has already secured four quota places for Paris 2024, with Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) confirming their berths with impressive performances at the Asian Games.