Amit Panghal, a renowned Indian boxer, has been reinstated into the national team for the upcoming Paris Olympics qualifier in Bangkok, scheduled from May 25th. This decision comes after India’s disappointing performance at the previous qualifier in Italy, where the men’s team failed to secure any Olympic quota spots.
In a bid to improve their chances, several changes have been made to the squad. Panghal, a Tokyo Olympian and gold medalist at the Strandja Memorial tournament in February, has replaced Deepak Bhoria in the 51kg class. Bhoria, a world championship medalist, had two opportunities to seal an Olympic quota but failed to do so.
Other notable changes include the exclusion of world championship medalist Mohd Hussamuddin in the 57kg category and seasoned boxer Shiva Thapa in the 63.5kg class. Sachin Siwach and young Abhinash Jamwal will take their places, respectively.
Nishant Dev, who performed well in the previous qualifier, has retained his spot in the 71kg category. Sanjeet (92kg) and Narender Berwal (+92kg) have also been given another chance to secure Olympic berths.
In the women’s category, India has already secured four of the six Olympic quotas through their strong performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Ankushita Boro has replaced Jasmine Lamboria in the 60kg class, while two-time world junior medalist Arundhati Chaudhary will compete in the 66kg category.
The Indian team will be hoping for a strong showing in Bangkok as they aim to secure the remaining Olympic quota spots. The selection process was conducted through an evaluation process by coaches in the national camp, following the resignation of India’s high-performance coach Bernard Dunne.
