3 Indian boxers book their place in Men's World Boxing Championship semi-finals in Tashkent

Three India boxers - Deepak Bhoria, Mohammed Hussamuddin and Nishant Dev entered medal round in their respective weight at the ongoing International Boxing Association (IBA) Men World Boxing Championship on Wednesday in Tashkent. This is for the first time in the history of Indian boxing, three boxers are in the semis of the global competitions.

Bhoria set the ball rolling by beating Diushebaev Nurzhigit of Kyrgyzstan 5-0 to reach the last four stage of the 51kg. While Mohammed Hussamuddin got the better of Bulgaria’s Javier Ibanez Diaz 4-3 to enter the semifinal of 57kg. In the 71kg, India’s Dev scored 5-0 win against Jorge Cuellar of Cuba.

In a chat with Sportskeeda, coach Dharmendra Yadav praised the Indian boxing contingent.

“The current group of Indian boxers are extremely hungry to excel at the World Championships,” Dharmendra Yadav, boxing coach told Sportskeeda from Tashkent. “The concept has changed. The Indian boxers are more confident and have big goals in life.”

In their campaign for the ongoing World Boxing Championship, the Indian team had a fortnight long camp in Tashkent.

“The exposure tour proved beneficial as the Indian team got a chance to spar with boxers from different nations,” Yadav added.

Medal winners at the Tashkent World Boxing Championship will get an automatic chance to represent India at the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled to be held in China from September 23.

According to Hussamuddin, he did his homework before the quarterfinal bout and it paid off.

“The plan was to keep moving in the ring to unsettle the Bulgarian boxer Ibanez. The plan worked in my favour,” Hussamuddin explained. “I am confident that I will give my best in my semis."

Thursday is a rest day. The semifinal bouts are scheduled for Friday. The finals will be played on May 14.

Bhoria setup semifinal clash with B Bennama of France. Hussamuddin will face Saidel Horta of Cuba. Dev will take on Asian champion Asianbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.

Performance in Tashkent is best ever by the Indian male boxers. In 2019, Amit Panghal won silver, while Manish Kaushik claimed bronze at the World Boxing Championship.