Akshata Sharma
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NEW DELHI: Nishant Dev on Friday became the first Indian male boxer to secure a spot in the Paris Olympics by reaching the semifinals of the Boxing Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok.
Dev, who had previously missed out on an Olympic berth, defeated Moldova's Vasile Cebotari in a 5-0 decision in the 71kg quarterfinal, which was a battle between two southpaws.
India have now secured four quota places, with women boxers Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preet Pawar (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) already having booked their tickets to Paris. The 71kg weight class had a total of five quotas available.
Dev started the bout strongly, landing precise and sharp punches. He maintained his composure and used his punches effectively throughout the fight.
Despite Cebotari landing a few blows in the second round and both boxers appearing tired in the final three minutes, Dev continued to land punches consistently.
Cebotari was penalized with a point deduction for hitting Dev while he was down on the canvas.
In another bout, India's hopes of securing a quota in the women's 60kg category were dashed when Ankushita Boro lost 2-3 to Sweden's Agnes Alexiusson in the quarterfinals. Boro, a former youth world champion, fought valiantly but was ultimately defeated by her more experienced opponent, who is a former European Games bronze medallist.
Boro started slowly but adapted towards the end of the first round, using straight jabs effectively. Despite being down 1-4, she came out strong in the second round, utilizing a combination of left jabs and right crosses.
The two entered the final round on equal terms, with Boro making early gains, but Alexiusson finished the bout stronger to secure the split decision victory.
Arundhati Choudhary (66kg) and Amit Panghal (51kg) are set to compete later in the day.
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