Nishant Dev achieves Paris Olympic quota, becomes the first male boxer to do so

Nishant Dev (71kg) became the first Indian male boxer to clinch a Paris Olympic quota by reaching the semi-finals of the World Boxing Olympic Qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.

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The World Championships bronze medallist, who missed an Olympic berth in the previous qualifiers, clinched the quota by defeating Maldova's Vesile Cebotari 5-0 in the quarter-finals. Nishant Dev was at his best throughout the qualifier tournament and put pressure on his opponents by getting off to a great start in every match.

Overall four boxers achieved quota places

This is India's fourth quota berth. Before Nishant Dev, women boxers Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have already secured their way to the Paris Olympics 2024. Five quotas have become available in the 71 kg weight category. 

India's hopes of securing quota in women's 60kg weight category ended 

India's hopes of securing a Paris Olympic quota in the women's 60kg weight category ended with Ankushita Boro's 2-3 defeat to Sweden's Agnes Alexiusson in the same event on Friday. The 23-year-old Indian player presented a tough challenge to her Swedish rival but the former European Games medalist showed Boro the way out with her experience.

Boro, a former world youth champion, started slowly but found momentum by the end of the first round and was able to sway one of the judges in her favor. After going down 1-4 in the first round, Boro started the second round aggressively and landed some powerful punches.

Sweden's 28-year-old player Alexiusson had no answer to this. Both players advanced to the third round with identical results. The Indian made a good start but could not sustain it while Alexiusson did well in the end.

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Nishant Dev started aggressively

Nishant Dev, who has maintained his dominance till now in the tournament, again started aggressively and defeated his opponent with heavy punches from the very beginning. 

Cebotari tried to dominate the second round but the Indian boxer continued to land accurate punches. Nishant Dev won the second round with four judges giving him the win while one judge rated both the boxers equal.

In the third and final round, both the boxers looked tired but Nishant still maintained his aggression. When the Indian fell down, Cebotari's point was deducted for a low blow on Nishant.