New Delhi: In the second round of the Paris Olympic boxing world qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday, former world youth champion Ankushita Boro won against Mongolia's Namoon Mongkol in the 60kg division, while Abhimanyu Rola was defeated by Ireland's Kerryn Cassidy in the second round of the 80kg division.
Boro, the first Indian woman to compete in what will be boxers' final chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics, started strongly against the young Mongolian as she strategically shifted gears to effectively slow down Mongkol's quick movements and emerged victorious 4-1 after three hard-fought rounds.
But it wasn't a forgettable match for Laura, as the national bronze medallist won a thrilling match against 10-time national champion Christian Nikolov of Bulgaria and went into the second round against two-time Irish champion Cassidy feeling more confident.
But Cassidy was well prepared for her opponent's long reach and won 0-5 in the final round, despite Laura's best efforts.
On Tuesday, Sachin Siwach (57kg), Avinash Jamwal (63.5kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) will be looking to continue their progress towards securing Olympic berths.
Sachin will face Denmark's Frederik Jensen, Jamwal will take on Colombia's Jose Manuel Viafara Foli and Nishant Dev will take on Mongolia's Otgonbaatar Byamba Erdene.
India has already secured three quota places for the Paris Games, with Nikhat Zareen (women's 50kg), Preeti (54kg) and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) having earned their places through winning bronze medals at the Asian Games in 2022. India has fielded seven men's and three women's athletes for the second World Qualifier, five of whom have been given exemptions from the opening round.
