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India pugilists Sachin Siwach (57kg) and Sanjeet Kumar (92kg) took a significant step towards Paris Olympic qualification as they registered convincing victories over their respective opponents to advance to the next round of the Boxing World Qualifiers on Thursday.
Siwach started the proceedings for India with a clinical 5-0 win over Olympian Batuhan Ciftci of Turkey in the pre-quarterfinal round and Sanjeet then saw off the challenge from Luis Sanchez of Venezuela with an identical margin in the Round of 32. In the 57kg Category, only three boxers will make the cut for the Paris Olympics, Siwach, therefore, needs to win two more bouts to breach the qualification mark while Sanjeet, who got a bye in the Round of 64, will have a similar target as all four semi-finalists will qualify in his weight category. Up against an experienced boxer, Siwach came out all guns blazing in Round 1 and that strategy worked wonders for the Indian as he took control of the bout very quickly. He earned a unanimous verdict even in Round 2 and though Ciftci attempted a comeback in the third and final round, the Indian was too comfortable in the end. The 92kg bout between Sanjeet and Sanchez followed a similar trajectory as the 2021 Asian Championship gold medallist did not allow his Venezuelan opponent to get a look in, in Round 1. Sanchez did show some spark in Round 2 and 3 but the experienced Sanjeet kept him at bay and landed his punches on counterattacks to win easily. Later in the day, 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal will face Mauricio Ruiz of Mexico in the 51kg second round while Jaismine will be up against Mahsati Hamzayeva of Azerbaijan in the women's 57kg category. (ANI)
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