The three assured themselves of at least a bronze after victories in the championships being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Wednesday
A lethal left hook has defined Deepak Bhoria's boxing at the world championships. Bhoria had demolished world champion and Olympics medallist Saken Bibossinov with that weapon in the second round. On Wednesday, he again used the left hook to telling effect against Diushebaev Nurzhigit of Kyrgyzstan and cruised into the semi-finals with a 5-0 verdict, securing India's first medal from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
After the winning start provided by Bhoria, Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) also entered the semi-finals, ensuring three medals and India's best-ever performance at the world championships.
Two-times Commonwealth Games medallist Hussamuddin came through a difficult fight against a rough Javier Diaz Ibanez of Bulgaria, winning 4-3 through the bout review system. Young Nishant was then left to battle out with Cuba's Jorge Cuellar. The 22-year-old came out throwing powerful punches and attacked fiercely for a unanimous victory.
The three medals are in Olympic weight categories, which augurs well for the Huangzhou Asian Games in September-October, which will be a qualification event for the Paris Games.
“It is a very good result for Indian boxing in an important year,” said chief coach CA Kuttappa, who is with the team in Tashkent. “The boys were positive from the start and they have improved a lot tactically. They are landing accurate punches, are more aggressive in their approach and are implementing the strategies well.”
The use of the left hook was part of Bhoria's strategy against Bibossinov. Having lost to him at the world championships last year, the coaches felt he was not throwing a second punch after his right straight. He has shown good temperament to tackle four opponents so far. Bhoria will be up against twice world medallist Billal Bennama of France for a place in the final.
Only one Indian boxer has made it to the world championships final – Commonwealth Games champion and Tokyo Olympian Amit Panghal who won silver in the 2019 edition in Russia. Achieving that thus remains a major quest. Bhoria was selected ahead of Panghal and is keen to better that performance.
Despite showing much promise, the talented Bhoria had to wait for his chance, playing second fiddle to Panghal. Five months ago, Bhoria was even struggling to make it to the Indian team as a recurring shoulder injury kept him away from the national championships in January. But he was too good a boxer to be left out of the national camp and made a spectacular comeback, upstaging Panghal in the new selection process based on weekly evaluation, implemented this year by Irish high-performance director Bernard Dunne.
“I am fighting every bout as it is my final,” said Bhoria, who knows Panghal is always on his heels. “This is a chance I cannot afford to waste. I have waited for a long time; I want to return with a gold medal,” he said.
The wait for a major medal has gone longer for Hussamuddin, 29. A fine technical boxer coming from Nizamabad – women's world champion Nikhat Zareen is also from the city in Telangana, Boxing runs in his blood. His father Mohammad Shamsuddin is a boxing coach and four of Hussamuddin’s six brothers have been boxers.
“They have high hopes for me. I was feeling low after not qualifying for Tokyo, but with my family's support I was able to regain confidence and start my journey again.” He will take on Cuba's Horta Rodriguez in the semi-finals.
Nishant too had to renew his quest for a world championships medal. He lost in the third round last year and then went through a tough phase after being sidelined following shoulder surgery.
Disclaimer: This Article is auto-generated from the HT news service
