Boxing World Qualifiers: Abhimanyu Loura beats Kristiyan Nikolov to hand India second win
Abhimanyu Loura of India defeated Bulgaria’s Kristiyan Nikolov 3-0 in the men’s 80kg opening round of the second Boxing World Qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Bangkok on Saturday.
The Indian senior nationals bronze medallist narrowly edged past the Bulgarian to win by points, thanks to the deduction received by Nikolov.
READ | Boxing World Qualifiers: Siwach outpunches Mukuka to give India winning start
Amit Panghal (51kg), a 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist Narendra Berwal (+92kg) have got a bye in the opening round of their respective weight categories.
The performance of Indian boxers at the previous world qualifiers in March was dismal with only 2023 World Championship bronze medallist Nishant Dev moving past the opening round.
Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have so far secured their entry to Paris at the Asian Games.