Preliminary rounds

Moldovan Boxer Vasile Cebotari: World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev (71kg) secured a spot in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics with a dominating 5-0 win over Moldovan Boxer Vasile Cebotari in the quarterfinal of the 2nd Boxing World Qualifiers here on Friday.

With this victory, Nishant also became the first male boxer to secure a berth at the Paris Olympics, joining three women pugilists Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Sai Pawar (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), who had confirmed their berths by winning bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Games.

The 23-year-old Nishant, who competes in the 71 kg category, started his quest for the Paris 2024 Olympics with a dominating 5-0 win over Armando Bighafa of Guinea-Bissau, followed by a knockout of Mongolia’s Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdeneto in the Preliminary Rounds. Dev then beat Thailand's Peerapat Yeasungnoen 5-0 in the pre-quarterfinal, ahead of Friday’s result.