Olympics 2024 Boxing Draw: Nikhat Zareen to Amit Panghal - Who Will Indian Boxers Face in Opening Round?

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Olympics 2024 Boxing Draw: Top Indian women's boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain have been handed a difficult draw in their respective weight categories at the Paris Games.

World Champion Nikhat will face Germany's Carina Kloetzer in the women's 50 kg category round of 32 clash, but her next bout could be against China's Wu Yu, the defending Asian Games champion, as per Olympics.com.

Wu Yu is also the top seeded boxer in Paris 2024 in women's 50 kg and is also the 52 kg division world champion. Nikhat on the other hand, is the reigning world champion in 50 kg category.

If Nikhat manages to overcome the Chinese challenger, she could face Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat or Uzbekistan's Sabina Bobokulova in the quarterfinals. She had lost to the Uzbek opponent in February during the Strandja Memorial final.

Sabina had also defeated Wu Yu in the semifinal of that event. Chuthamat had also beaten Nikhat in the semifinals on-route to her Asian Games Hangzhou silver last year.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist, Lovlina, will be starting her campaign in round of 16 against the Sunniva Hofstad of Norway in the women's 75 kg category. But the 26-year-old is set for an even tougher test in the later rounds.

If she wins her opening round bout, Lovlina could meet China's Li Qian in the quarter-finals, who had defeated her in the Asian Games women's 75 kg final just last year. Qian is also a two-time Olympic medalist.

In the other women's bouts, Jaismine Lamboria will be locking horns against Philippines' Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Nesthy Petecio in her women's 57 kg category opener. Asian Games bronze medalist Preeti Pawar will be boxing against Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh in the round of 32.

If Jaismine moves to the second round, her next opponent will be the third-seeded Amina Zidani from France, the current European champion in this weight category. Preeti, on the other hand, will face Colombia's Yeni Arias in the round of 16 if she wins her opener.

Meanwhile, the Indian men's boxers Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev will kickstart their campaign in the round of 16 of 51 kg and 71 kg categories after receiving opening round byes.

Amit's opening bout will be against the 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba while Nishant is scheduled to face Ecuador's Jose Rodriguez Tenorio.

The boxing events at Paris 2024 will begin with preliminary rounds on July 27 at the Arena Paris Nord. Here is a look at the opening round bouts of the Indian boxing contingent at Olympics 2024.

Indian boxers opening round bouts in Paris Olympics 2024

• Women 50kg: Nikhat Zareen vs Maxi Carina Kloetzer (GER) - Round of 32
• Women's 54kg: Preeti Pawar vs Vo Thi Kim Anh (VIE) - Round of 32
• Women's 57kg: Jaismine Lamboria vs Nesthy Petecio (PHI) - Round of 32
• Women's 75kg: Lovlina Borgohain vs Sunniva Hofstad (NOR) - Round of 16
• Men's 51kg: Amit Panghal vs Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) - Round of 16
• Men's 71kg: Nishant Dev vs Jose Rodriguez Tenorio (ECU) - Round of 16