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Paris Olympics 2024: India's Boxing Campaign In Shambles With 3 Boxers Knocked Out
India’s boxing campaign at the ongoing Paris Olympics suffered a major setback on Tuesday. Indian boxers Amit Panghal, Jasmine Lamboria, and Preeti Pawar lost their respective matches on the same day. Amit Panghal entered the tournament with a bye and direct access to the Round of 16. However, the boxer couldn’t turn the advantage to his favor, losing his first bout by a 4-1 split decision. The boxer repeated his 2020 Tokyo Olympics performance where he exited the tournament in the first round. This time, Panghal fought against Zambian boxer Patrick Chinyemba, who used his height to his advantage and didn’t let Panghal set any attacking tactics. Moreover, Panghal also fell short in matching Chinyemba’s speedy footwork, resulting in losing the second and third rounds 2-3 and 5-0 respectively.
3 Indian Boxers Face Elimination On Tuesday
Three Indian boxers bow out of #Paris2024 ❌
— ESPN India (@ESPNIndia)
Three remain: Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, and Nishant Dev pic.twitter.com/cKwpuMIKb6
Jasmine Lamboria was pitted against the Philippines' Nesthy Petecio in the women’s 57 kg category. The Round of 32 match witnessed Lamboria go down against Petecio by a unanimous 5-0 decision. The silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Petecio fought off the Indian debutant in what appeared to be a considerably easy matchup for her. Adapting an attacking plan right off the bat, Petecio didn’t let Lamboria have any openings. Already in a defensive mode, Lamboria succumbed to Petecio’s attack swiftly, losing any chances of a comeback.
The 20-year-old Olympic debutant, Preeti Pawar, also lost in the pre-quarterfinal match despite putting up a tenacious fight. For her pre-quarterfinal bout, Pawar was pitted against the Colombian fighter, Yeni Arias. Preeti featured in the women’s 54 kg category where she lost to Arias by a split 3-2 decision. Unlike the other two Indians, Preeti’s performance came out to be impressive. That’s the reason why the judges’ decision caused an uproar on social media. Netizens have termed the decision biased in favor of the Colombian fighter. However, despite the disagreement, the decision ensured that all the Indian boxers fighting on Tuesday were out of the Olympics race.
Who Will Lead The Indian Boxing Campaign Ahead At The Paris Olympics?
With Panghal, Lamboria, and Pawar out, India will look up to Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen, and Nishant Dev to carry the campaign forward. Borgohain will play the Round of 16 match in the women’s 75 kg category against Norway’s Sunniva Hofsted on Wednesday. On the same day, Nishant Dev will take on Ecuador’s Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio in the men’s 75 kg category, Round of 16 match. Nikhat Zareen won her Olympics debut game, the Round of 32 match against Germany’s Maxi Kloetzer in the women’s 50 kg category on Sunday. The boxer will now take on Japan’s Wu Yu in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
