Deepak, Poonam progress as India begin Boxing World Cup campaign in China
New Delhi, June 15
Deepak and Poonam emerged as the lone Indian winners on the opening day of the Boxing World Cup in China, advancing to the next round of their respective categories while seven other Indian boxers suffered defeats.
Competing in the women's 54kg category, Poonam registered a convincing 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan's Aziza Yokubova in the preliminary round of 32 to move ahead in the competition, according to a press release.
Deepak joined her in the next round after producing an equally dominant display in the men's 70kg division, defeating Turkmenistan's Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov by a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the preliminary round of 32.
The remaining Indian boxers, however, could not progress further.
In the preliminary round of 16, Rishi Singh (50kg) lost to Azerbaijan's Subhan Mamedov, while Sanamacha Chanu Thokchom (75kg) went down against Canada's Tammara Thibeault. Sawan Gill also bowed out after suffering a defeat to Norway's Omar Shiha in the men's 90kg category.
In other preliminary contests, Anmol (60kg) was narrowly beaten 2-3 by Salim Ellis Bey (USA). Meanwhile, Harsh Choudhary (90kg) had his bout stopped prematurely, losing to Sweden's Elwin Belezika via Referee Stops Contest due to Injury [RSC (I)] in the third round.
India also endured disappointment in the quarterfinals as Naina lost to China's Xiaomeng Wang in the women's 80kg category, while Alfiya Tarannum Akram Khan Pathan was defeated by Poland's Elzbieta Wojcik in the women's 90+kg division.
Deepak and Poonam will now look to continue India's challenge in the tournament as the competition progresses.
Results (India):
Won:Poonam (54kg-W) bt Aziza Yokubova (Uzbekistan-W) 5-0Deepak (70kg) bt Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov (Turkmenistan) 5-0
Lost:Anmol (60kg) lost to Salim Ellis Bey (USA) 2-3Harsh Choudhary (90kg) lost to Elwin Belezika (Sweden) via RSC (I) Round 3Naina (80kg-W) lost to Xiaomeng Wang (China-W) 0-5Sanamacha Chanu Thokchom (75kg-W) lost to Tammara Thibeault (Canada-W) 0-5Rishi Singh (50kg) lost to Subhan Mamedov (Azerbaijan) 0-5Alfiya Tarannum Akram Khan Pathan (90+kg-W) lost to Elzbieta Wojcik (Poland-W) 0-5Sawan Gill (90kg) lost to Omar Shiha (Norway) 0-5.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Poonam's 5-0 win is brilliant! 👏 But what happened to our other boxers? Rishi Singh, Sanamacha, Sawan Gill all lost 0-5. That's not just losing, that's getting completely outclassed. We need more international exposure for these athletes. Still, proud of Deepak and Poonam for flying the tricolor 🇮🇳
Mixed feelings yaar. Happy for Deepak and Poonam but the rest of the results are painful. Harsh Choudhary's bout being stopped due to injury is scary - hope he's okay 🙏 This shows we need better training and medical support for our boxers. China is investing heavily in sports infrastructure, we need to compete.
Wah! Poonam's unanimous decision is fantastic for women's boxing in India! But I'm really disappointed with Naina and Alfiya losing in quarterfinals. The 0-5 scores against Chinese and Polish boxers show we have a long way to go. Still, every tournament is a learning experience. Come on India! 🥊🇮🇳
Deepak in 70kg and Poonam in 54kg - these are our hopes now! But the pattern is worrying. Most defeats are 0-5 or 2-3 margin. Our boxers need to improve their technique and stamina. The Chinese boxer beating Naina 5-0 shows the gap. We need more grassroots development in boxing, not just cricket funding.
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