Men’s World Boxing Championships, Highlights: Nishant, Deepak and Hussamuddin win bronze medals

India’s campaign at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships ends with three bronze medals - Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg).

Nishant Dev finishes with a bronze medal as the decision goes in the Kazakh boxer’s favour. Shymbergenov has declared winner by points.

Shymbergenov looks set to progress to the final unless Nishant can pull off something big here in the final round of this bout. The Indian giving it his all, lands a left hook! Has he done enough to turn the tide? Last 20 seconds. Shymbergenov tries to evade the Indian’s punches by keeping his head low and gets a warning from the referee. That’s it. It’s gone for a bout review.

Shymbergenov with a slight advantage after the first round. Every punch Nishant lands, he gets one back from the Kazakh in no time. A fiercely contest bout so far. Halfway through the second round and suddenly, Shymbergenov turns his back to Nishant who ends up hitting the back of his head. The Indian looks a bit out of gas and the Kazakh knows that. For the second round, Shymbergenov gets three 10s and two 9s and like the first round, Nishant gets two 10s and three 9s.

And we’re underway! Passive start from both the boxers. Right cross jab from Nishant. Connects another. The Indian looking in good position to win this round. Right punch fron Nishant sends Shymbergenov’s head back! And he connects another right before the bell. However, it is the Kazakh boxer who gets three 10s and two 9s while Nishant gets two 10s and three 9s in the opening round.

Nishant Dev is on the verge of making history. A win today against Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan will make him only the second-ever Indian man to reach a World Championships final.

Vijender Singh (Bronze) – 2009

Vikas Krishan (Bronze) – 2011

Shiva Thapa (Bronze) – 2015

Gaurav Bhiduri (Bronze) – 2017

Manish Kaushik (Bronze) – 2019

Amit Panghal (Silver) – 2019

Akash Kumar (Bronze) – 2021

Deepak Bhoria (Bronze) – 2023

Mohammad Hussamuddin (Bronze) – 2023

Nishant Dev (medal yet to be determined) – 2023

Deepak and Hussamuddin are out of the competition. All eyes will be on Nishant Dev. Can he keep the Indian interest alive in these World Championships and reach the 67-71kg final? Nishant’s bout might begin in half an hour.

Deepak Bhoria loses the semifinal to Frenchman Billal Bennama by a split decision after a bout review. The Indian’s campaign ends with a bronze medal.

An early standing count for Bennama! Fantastic start from Deepak. And the Frenchman bounces bakc with some hooks clearly rattling the Indian. This could be a very close call. Last 30 seconds. And that’s that! Who is going to proceed to the final? Stay tuned for the result.

Deepak going for it right from the beginning in the second round but that allows Bennama to target him with jabs. Deepak’s guard is down as he tries to tempt the Frenchman to commit a mistake. Another big left jab from Bennama. Just before the bell rings, Deepak lands a right punch! After the second round, both boxers are tied! It is all to play for in the final round!

Bennama looking to be the early aggressor while Deepak just assessing his opponents game. As the first minute of the first round is about to end, the two finally throw some punches. Some clean strikes from the southpaw Bennama. That’s it for the opening round. Bennama clearly dominated it. However, as per the judges’ decision, he leads 3-2.

Deepak makes his way to the ring. A big day for the Indian as he looks to become only the second-ever Indian man to reach the final at World Championships. His opponent, Frenchman Billal Bennama also steps into the ring.

Deepak Bhoria faces Frenchman Billal Bennama in the last-four clash.

He displayed a strong performance to defeat Kyrgyzstan’s Nurzhigit Diushebaev 5-0 in the quarterfinals.

The Indian boxer stunned the Olympic bronze medallist Saken Bibossinov in the second round and Jiamao Zhang 5-0 in the pre-quarterfinal.

On Wednesday, after taking the watchful first round 5-0, Bhoria tackled an attacking Diushebaev tactically. The Indian, who countered beautifully with combinations of three-four punches, connected a solid left to put Diushebaev through counting in the second round. Bhoria inflicted another eight-count on his rival in the third before advancing.

FanCode will live stream the IBA Men’s Boxing World Championships. FanCode’s mobile app (Android, iOS), TV app available on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Jio STB, Samsung TV, and on www.fancode.com

48-51kg: Deepak vs Billal Bennama .(FRA) - 6:30 PM IST onwards

67-71kg: Nishant Dev vs Aslanbek Shymbergenov (KAZ)

54-57kg: Mohammed Hussamuddin gave walkover to Horta Rodriguez Del-Rey of Cuba