Sachin Siwach lost 0-5 to Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Carlo Param in the semi-finals of the second world boxing qualifying tournament in Bangkok on Saturday, while Jaismin Ramboriya continued to progress in the women's 57kg category with a thumping 5-0 win over Switzerland's Anna Maria Mircic in the quarter-finals.
However, Siwach still has a chance of securing a Paris Olympic berth if she wins the playoff for the third and final spot in her weight class. Jasmin is also one win away from reclaiming India's Paris Olympic berth in the women's 57kg category. The berth was originally won by Parveen Hooda at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but India lost it after Hooda was stripped of her Paris Olympic berth for three whereabouts reporting violations in one year.
Jasmin's performance at the world qualifiers was hardly intimidating. A tall southpaw who normally competes in the 60kg division, Jasmin is quite tall for a 57kg boxer and used her reach advantage to good effect in Saturday's bout.
Mircic tried to close the distance with Jasmin many times, but whenever she stepped into that sacred space, a right hook was waiting for her. Jasmin calmly planned the fight. She chose to let Mircic close the distance in the first round, intending to dodge and dodge punches if she had the chance. Her strategy was safe, and the judges all awarded her the victory in the first round.
The second round was even easier for the Swiss boxer as she was behind on the scorecards and had to double down on the strategy that had failed in the first round. Two out of the five judges felt that this round was in Jasmin's favour, 10 to 8. The final round was a breeze at this point, with the Indian boxer easily out-pointing her opponent and progressing to the quarter-finals.
Jasmin may have gone into the match full of confidence, but so did Sachin Siwathi, who won a hard-fought match against France's Samuel Kistharie in the quarter-finals.
But Carlo Palam is a boxer on another level. The Filipino puncher, a medalist at 52kg in Tokyo, is moving up to 57kg and had mixed results in his race to Paris. But against Siwaci, a boxer with limitless range at this weight, Palam had a strategy in mind.
He landed some lightning-fast combinations at close range before leaping out of the Bhiwani boxer's reach. The bout was clearly decided in the first round, but Siwaci's strategy let him down. Despite knowing that the Filipino was clearly faster and would usually strike first, he decided to continue challenging his opponent's fighting style rather than his own.
He fought against Param and missed quite a few punches leaving him vulnerable. Against a boxer of this calibre he struggled. The next few rounds were a situation where Param kept his distance and Siwaci was throwing heavy punches but not landing any.
He now has to face Kyrgyzstan's Munarbek Saytbek-Uul, the current World Championship bronze medallist in the 57kg division. Beating the Kyrgyz boxer will be a tough task. Among the Indian boxers, Sivachi has the toughest schedule, especially considering there are only three places in his weight class and he will have to fight extra bouts. A win against a world champion level boxer will be the only way he can realise his Paris ambitions.
© Indian Express Ltd.
First uploaded: 06 January 2024 22:05 IST
