It was India day at the World Boxing Championship as Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) assured at least a bronze medal each by reaching the semi-finals in their respective categories in the tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
This is the first time that Indian pugilists have secured three medals at World Boxing Championships. Earlier, the best performance of the Indian men’s boxers was recorded in 2019 when Amit Panghal (Silver) and Manish Kaushik (Bronze) clinched medals for the country.
In the first quarter-final bout of the day, Deepak trashed Diushebaev Nurzhigit of Kyrgyzstan by a 5-0 unanimous decision to storm into semis.
The Indian dominated the match from the beginning and used his quick movement and ring intelligence to win the first round. He was at his best in the second round as well as he dodged his opponent’s attack proficiently and stayed ahead in the match.
In the last round Deepak played smartly and negated the heavy attacks of Nurzhigit. The strategy worked as he comfortably won the bout. He will now face B. Bennama of France in the semi-finals on Friday.
In the second bout Hussamuddin had to wage a grim battle before ousting J. Diaz Ibanez of Bulgaria by a 4-3 split decision to confirm another medal for India at the ongoing tournament.
It was a tough fight between the boxers from the get-go as Hussamuddin took some time to gauge Ibanez’s movements. The Southpaw used his speed and movement to defend and land some heavy blows on his opponent while counter-punching.
The second round was rather comfortable for the Indian as he quickly judged his rival’s attacks and hit heavy punches. The third round saw both the boxers throw caution to the wind and go on the offensive but Hussamuddin used his combinations well to secure the win.
“It was a tough bout because my opponent was playing really rough and it caused me some problems but somehow I prevailed to win and proceed to the next round. I had made plans with the coach before the bout and implemented if perfectly in the match. Our plan was to keep moving in the ring and make my opponent work to reach me to attack and it worked perfectly as I hit a lot of side blows to gather points in the bout,” stated Hussamuddin after the victory.
He added, ” I am feeling really great after securing a medal for India and now I am just two steps away from a gold medal. I am confident that I will win the gold in this tournament.”
Hussamuddin will go up against Saidel Horta of Cuba in the semi-finals on Friday.
Nishant Dev trounced Jorge Cuellar Of Cuba by a 5-0 unanimous decision to secure the third medal of the day . The Indian boxed to a plan as he faced a taller boxer with a good height advantage but he used his movements and precise punches to gain an advantage over his rival in the first round.
The second round also went in the favour of the Indian as he continued to be on top of his game and denied any scoring opportunity to Cuellar. Nishant, then, continued his attacking intent in the third round as well to ensure a medal for the country.
“It’s a great feeling to win a match against a Cuban boxer by a unanimous verdict. Our strategy was to create pressure on the opponent from the first round and stay strong mentally during the whole bout. I will take this positive mindset in the next round as well to reach the final. Securing a bronze medal at the World Championships is great but I will be back to India with a gold medal,” commented Nishant after the match.
Nishant Dev will face Asian champion Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals on Friday.