Nishant Dev will get another chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics through the second World Qualification Tournament, to be held in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3.
Busto Arsizio (Italy): India’s Nishant Dev went down fighting 1-4 against the 2021 World Championships silver medallist Omari Jones of USA in the men’s 71kg quarterfinals at the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifier in Busto Arsizio, Italy. A closely fought contest witnessed contrasting first two rounds. Omari dominated the first one effectively using speed to his advantage to secure a perfect 5-0 start.
However, Nishant got himself back and looked more effective as the southpaw delivered some good combinations of left hook and jab in what was an action-packed three minutes which involved a lot of holding and grappling. Omari relied on the counter attack but it was Nishant who secured the second round with a 4-1 scoreline.
The final round was intense as Nishant continued his aggressive display and took an early advantage. Both the boxers looked tired as the round progressed but Jones made the most use of the final 60 seconds with some effective punches, tilting the decision of the match in his favour.
With Nishant’s loss, India stand at four quotas for Paris Olympic Games 2024 with Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) confirming their berths with impressive performances at the Asian Games.
The Indian boxers will get another opportunity to secure the Paris Olympics quotas through the second World Qualification Tournament, to be held in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3. A place in the top four would have confirmed Nishant a ticket to Paris as all the four semifinalists are being given quota places at the Paris Olympics. Earlier, Nishant had defeated Christos Karaitis of Greece 5-0 to enter the quarterfinals.
Continuing his dominating form, Nishant had begun the bout cautiously as Karaitis looked to secure some early points but not for long as the Indian found his rhythm and delivered some good combinations to secure points by using his speed to his advantage. Nishant looked super effective on the counter attacks and picked up the pace in the closing seconds of the first round to win it comfortably.
The southpaw looked lethal right from the start of the next round. He used multiple combinations to surprise the opponent as the Greek pugilist looked clueless and even got a standing count after a left hook pierced his defense while Nishant continued to be a dominant force.
Nishant used his jabs effectively as the bout continued to be a one-sided affair in the final three minutes as well before the Haryana-born boxer completed a comfortable victory.