Assam Girl Ankushita Boro Shines In Opening Round Bout Of Boxing World Qualifiers

BANGKOK: In a proud moment for the state and the country, Assam girl Ankushita Boro made a strong start in her bid to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in Paris.

The former world youth champion scored a convincing victory against Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia in the 60kg category of the second Boxing World qualifiers for Paris Olympics on Monday.

The pugilist from Assam put on a tactical masterclass as she effectively countered Monkhor's agile movements by skillfully shifting gears to grind out a 4-1 after three hard fought rounds.

On the other hand, India's Abhimanyu Loura went down to Kelyn Cassidy of Ireland in the 80kg division.

Things did not pan out according to plan for the National Championships bronze medalist as the Irish boxer succeeded in neutralizing Loura's reach advantage.

Despite giving his best efforts in the final round, Cassidy put up a formidable performance as he routed Loura by a scoreline of 5-0.

This setback came as a shocker for the high-flying Loura as the pugilist came into the second-round clash high on confidence after getting the better of Bulgaria's 10-time national champion Kristiyan Nikolov in a thrilling bout.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Sachin Siwach (57kg), Abhinash Jamwal (63.5kg), and Nishant Dev (71kg) will battle it out to secure Olympic quota places.

It is worth mentioning the fact that this tournament happens to be the final opportunity for the boxers to seal their berth in the forthcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Sachin will lock horns against Denmark's Frederik Jensen while Janwal will be up against Jose Manuel Viafara Fory of Colombia. On the other hand, Nishant Dev will take on Mongolia's Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdene.

Notably, three quotas has been already been secured by India for the Paris Olympics as ace boxers Nikhat Zareen (women's 50kg), Preeti (54kg) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) have already cemented their spot by clinching bronze medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

India has fielded seven men and three women boxers in the second World Qualifiers, with five of them receiving opening round byes.

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