All eyes on Nikhat, Lovlina as boxers open Olympic campaign hoping to negotiate difficult draws

PARIS: World Championship medallists Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Nishant Dev will wade through draws that are at best tricky in their quest to achieve India's best Olympic medal tally in boxing when the competition kicks off here on Saturday.

Indian boxers have fetched three medals in the Olympics so far, all bronze. While Vijender Singh remains the only male to have achieved the feat back in the 2008 Beijing Games, women stars MC Mary Kom (London, 2012) and Borgohain (Tokyo, 2021) later added to the overall haul.

The six boxers in Paris were handed draws ranging from slippery to difficult on Thursday. Expectations are high from the group and two-time reigning world champion Zareen is at the forefront.

The 28-year-old has an uphill task ahead as three of the top medal contenders in the light-flyweight (50kg) division -- China's Wu Yu, Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat and Uzbekistan's Sabina Bobokulov -- are in her half.

Zareen opens her campaign against Germany's Maxi Klotzer on Sunday, following which she will meet top-seeded Asian Games and reigning flyweight world champion Wu.

If Zareen crosses this hurdle, she may meet either eighth-seeded Asian Games silver medallist Raksat or Bobokulova.

Both boxers have defeated the Indian recently. While Raksat got the better of Zareen at the Asian Games last year, Bobokulova beat her at the Strandja Memorial final in February.

But the tenacious Hyderabadi would be up for the challenge and if she gets through two rounds, she would become a favourite for gold.

The seasoned Amit Panghal (51kg) has had a rollercoaster of a ride this Olympic year -- from not being the first choice in his weight class in the national team to making the cut for Paris in the one and only chance he got.

Time out from the national team deflated his confidence but he has unfinished business to address, having made a first-round exit in Tokyo.

Panghal has received a first-round bye and meets African Games champion, Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba, who had lost to the Indian at the Commonwealth Games, in the round of 16.

He faces Asian Games silver medallist Thitisan Panmod of Thailand in the quarterfinals and could potentially meet Rio Olympics and reigning world champion Hassanboy Dusmatov from Uzbekistan or Tokyo bronze-winner Kazakh Saken Bibossinov in the semifinal.

The immensely talented Nishant, one of the most consistent performers in the Indian squad, has got the best draw. With a first round bye, the debutant will take on Ecuador's Rodriguez Tenorio in the pre-quarters on Thursday.

If Nishant gets past Tenorio, he will meet Mexico's Pan American Games champion Merco Verde in the quarterfinals. He may come up against top seed Sewon Okazawa of Japan in the semifinals.

Borgohain will be chasing history, to add to her 69kg bronze. The Assamese boxer, who has bulked up to 75kg, will clash with Norway's Sunniva Hofstad in the first round.

However, Borgohain has a tough test waiting for her in the quarterfinal in the form of Chinsese Li Qian, the reigning Asian Games champion and also a two-time Olympic and world medallist.

Although Borgohain defeated Qian at the world event last year, she lost in the previous two meetings -- Asian Games and the Czech Grand Prix.

A win in the quarters may pit Borgohain against either fifth-seeded world silver medallist Australian Caitlin Parker or Morocco's heavyweight world champion Khadija El-Mardi.

Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar (54kg), competing in her debut Games, will fight with Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh in the first round. A win will take her to the round of 16 where world silver-medallist Yeni Arias of Colombia awaits her.

Another debutant Jaismine Lamboria, who has dropped from 60kg to 57kg just ahead of the final qualifier, has got perhaps the most difficult draw.

She takes on Tokyo silver-medallist, former world champion Nesthy Petecio of Philippines, in her opening bout. Should she win, Jaismine would be up against France's European Games champion and world bronze winner Amina Zidani.

The boxing events at the Paris Games will take place at two venues. The early rounds will be held at the North Paris Arena while the iconic Stade Roland-Garros will host the semifinals and finals