Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) was among the two Indian boxers who got a bye in the first round as record participation presented an expected strong field in the weight categories while unveiling the draw for the AIBA Men’s World Championships here. The second Indian to get a bye is also Sachin Kumar (80kg) making his tournament debut. He will face American Robbie Gonzalez in the second round on October 30.
Sanjeet will take on Russian Andre Stotsky in his opening match on October 29. With over 600 boxers from over 100 countries, many competitors must win at least three bouts in some categories to reach the quarter-final stage.
Five-time Asian medalist Shiv Thapa (63.5kg) is one such boxer. Thapa, who won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Showpiece, will open his campaign against Kenya’s Victor Odiambo Nyadera on Tuesday.
Asian silver medalist Deepak Kumar (51kg), who impressed with his mammoth performance on his way to a silver medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament last year, will take on Kyrgyzstan’s Ajat Usnaliev in his opening bout on Tuesday. A day later, debutant Govind Sawhney (48kg) will take on Ecuador’s Billy Joo Ortiz in his opening bout.
In the 54kg category, Akash Kumar (54kg) has Germany’s Omar Salah as his first-round opponent and will enter the ring on October 29. Rohit Mor, competing in the 57kg category, will face Ecuador’s Jean Cassado this evening. Akash (67 kg). Akash will face Turkey’s Furkan Adem in the evening session.
On Wednesday, Varinder Singh (60kg) will take on Armenia’s Karen Tonkanyan, while Nishat Dev (71kg) will take on Hungary’s Laszlo Kozak in his opening encounter. Lakshya Chahar (86kg) will take on Korean Kim Hyongkyu on the same day.
Sumit (75kg) will join Thapa and Deepak on Tuesday when they take on Jamaica’s Damon O’Neill. Narendra will take on Poland’s Oscar Safarian on Tuesday in the 92kg category.
The gold-winners in the showpiece will walk away with a prize money of USD 100,000. USD 50,000 is to be given to the silver medalists, and USD 25,000 will be awarded to both the bronze medalists. The total prize money is USD 2.6 million.
All the boxers representing India are national champions. He is accompanied by a restructured support staff led by outgoing High Performance Director Santiago Nieva and newly appointed head coach Narendra Rana, along with former Commonwealth Games silver medalist L Devendro Singh with assistant coaches.
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