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Three Indian boxers gave a commendable performance to enter the medal round at the ongoing International Boxing Association (IBA) Men’s World Boxing Championship in Tashkent.
On Friday, the trio of Deepak Bhoria, Mohammad Hussamuddin, and Nishant Dev had the responsibility to exhibit a high level of ring craft. The trio were mentally prepared to face the rivals. However, nothing went as per plans.
Simply, it wasn't their day! Firstly, Hussamuddin had to pull out of his 57kg semifinal bout against Cuban opponent Saidel Horta due to a knee injury suffered during the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Despite an off day on Thursday, Hussamuddin wasn’t able to recover from the pain.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said that after careful and detailed assessment by the medical team, it was decided that Hussamuddin has to pull out of the bout. The BFI said boxer decided to forego the opportunity of fighting in the semi-final:
“As he doesn’t want the injury to aggravate for future competitions."
Deepak Bhoria’s flawless performance in the competition raised hopes of him crossing the semi-final hurdle. The Indian boxer even shifted gears during his bout but French boxer Billal Bennama proved a hard nut to crack. Bhoria eventually lost 3-4 in the 51kg semis to settle for a bronze medal.
Bhoria had made a cautious start but made a strong comeback in the second round. In the third round, both Bhoria and Bennama were neck and neck, but in the end, the French boxer earned a hard-fought victory on points.
Nishant Dev also gave every ounce of energy he had in the 71kg semi-final encounter against reigning Asian champion Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan. The Indian went down fighting 2-5 to win the third bronze for the team.
This was for the first time that an Indian boxing squad won three medals at the Men's World Boxing Championship. This was an event where more than 500 boxers from 107 countries competed. Indian boxers performance may not have been superlative but it was certainly very encouraging.
