Page 3 - Boxing

Boxer Imane Khelif fights to get closer to gold amid gender misconceptions

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will press her fight for an Olympic gold medal Tuesday night amid the intense scrutiny over misconceptions about her gender. Khelif takes on Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in boxing semifinals at the Paris Olympics at Roland Garros, Paris' famed tennis complex. The winner advances to the women's 66-kilogram finals on Friday night. Khelif, a two-time Olympian, has already clinched her first Olympic medal, which is also Algeria's first medal in women's boxing. She needs two more victories to claim only Algeria's second boxing gold medal, following Hocine Soltani in 1996. Khelif comfortably won her first two fights in Paris, but the ending of her first bout propelled her into a worldwide divide over gender identity and regulations in sports. Her first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, tearfully quit after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif's punches. Carini's abandonment of the fight led to comments from the likes of former U.S.

Paris Olympics: Ngamba becomes 1st athlete on refugee team to clinch medal

Cameroonian boxer Cindy Ngamba on Sunday became the first athlete on the Refugee Olympic Team to clinch a medal at the Paris Games, offering hope for a team created to call attention to the plight of refugees across the world. Ngamba's victory comes after a fierce bout with French boxer Davina Michel in the women's middleweight quarterfinals. The win means she's at least scored a bronze medal as she advances to the semifinals. Ngamba was a flag bearer for the 37 athletes making up the biggest Olympic Refugee Team since the idea was born ahead of the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Ngamba, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 11 and said she was granted refugee status in 2021 because she could have been imprisoned for being gay in Cameroon. She has said boxing has been her escape from the chaos and has lifted her to the international stage. While some of the athletes on the team have already won Olympic medals for their countries in pas

Olympics 2024: Proud of myself, said Hungary's Luca after loss to Khelif

In a bout that attracted global attention, Hungary's Luca Anna Hamari (66kg) braved intimidating gender row boxer Iman Khelif for three competitive rounds at the Paris Olympics and walked out feeling proud of herself as "not fighting was not an option" for her, here Saturday. The Algerian, embroiled in a major gender controversy in the French capital, left the ring in tears after she guaranteed herself at least bronze by entering the women's 66kg semifinals. Her previous opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini had pulled out of her bout against Khelif on Thursday just after 46 seconds, unable to take heavy punches from the Algerian, who was banned from the 2023 World Championship in New Delhi for failing the gender eligibility test. The dramatic turn of events had created a huge furore in the boxing world and at the Games, with many questioning Khelif's presence in the women's competition even as IOC put up a stout defence of their decision to allow the Algerian to compete as a ...

Olympics: Algerian boxer Imane Khelif clinches medal after gender outcry

Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria clinched a medal at the Paris Olympics in an emotional fight Saturday that followed days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender have exploded into a larger clash about identity in sports. Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women's 66-kilogram bout. Khelif will win at least a bronze medal after defeating Hamori for the second victory of her tumultuous second trip to the Olympics. Hungary's boxing association said it planned to contest the matchup with the International Olympic Committee but still let the fight go ahead. Khelif faced outcry after the banned International Boxing Association claimed she failed an unspecified eligibility test to compete last year over elevated levels of testosterone. She won her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds. The unusual ending became a sharp wedge to .

Imene Khelif boxing row: Hormones not linked to performance - Dutee Chand

Imene Khelif row: On Thursday, a major controversy erupted at the Paris Olympics when Angela Carini of Italy quit after just 46 seconds against Imane Khelif of Algeria in a boxing match

Two punches that shook the Paris Olympics: Boxer controversy explained

Italian boxer Angela Carini's Olympic journey ended in 46 seconds after two right-hand punches from her Algerian opponent in the first round left her devastated and crying

Paris Olympics 2024: India schedule on July 30, live time (IST), streaming

Day 4 will see manu Bhaker and Sarabjot bronze in the 10m air pistol bronze medal match. Indian hockey team take on Ireland in their pool B match. Satwik and Chirag will be taking on Indonesia.

Nikhat to Satwik-Chirag: Top 10 Medal hopefuls for India in Olympics 2024

Though India's contingent is not the biggest ever at the Paris Olympics 2024, there are chances that the country's medal haul at the world's biggest sporting event might swell to 10 this time around.

Olympics 2024: Staying out of team made Panghal stronger, says Akhil Kumar

Former Commonwealth Games champion boxer Akhil Kumar believes a battle-hardened Amit Panghal, who persevered through the setback of being dropped from the national team before roaring back to qualify for the Olympics, will be among the most mentally strong Indian athletes competing in the Paris Games. After the first-round exit from Tokyo Olympics, Panghal lost his spot in the team on the basis of Boxing Federation of India's evaluation system, which was drafted by then High Performance Director Bernard Dunne. "Amit is in a strong place now because he has made a comeback and seen the tough times in the past few years," Akhil told PTI on the sidelines of a panel discussion on India's Olympic prospects hosted by the Delhi Sports Journalists Association in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India. The snubs severely dented Panghal's confidence and made him question his abilities. However, when the opportunity came, India's lone men's world championships silver-medallist grabbe

Nishant Dev wants to change colour of Indian boxing medal at Olympics

A confident Nishant Dev has set his sights on bettering the shade of India's boxing medals from bronze to gold at this month's Paris Olympics. Three Indian boxers -- Vijender Singh (2008), MC Mary Kom (2012) and Lovlina Borgohain (2021) -- have stood on the podium at the Olympics, all winning bronze medals. But Dev is confident he has the skillset to not only reach the the light middle-weight (71kg) final but win the elusive gold medal. "My target is to change the colour of the medal in boxing. Our country's boxers have won bronze medals but not gold or silver till now," Dev said during an interaction facilitated by JSW Sports. "I want to convert that bronze to not silver but gold. I have the confidence that I can achieve this. I have trained well. But at the end of the day, it is up to God," Dev added. The 23-year-old burst onto the scene in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinal in his maiden world championship appearance. Two years later, he fetched a bronze medal at the world

Paris 2024: IOC suggests idea to NOCs to secure boxing's Olympic future

The IOC has reiterated its threat to leave boxing out of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if national federations continue to align themselves with the suspended International Boxing Association (IBA), casting fresh doubts on the crisis-hit sport's future at the quadrennial showpiece. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had de-recognised the IBA in 2019 over long-standing financial, sports integrity, and governance issues. Boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to be overseen by the IOC. It will be the second successive time, after the Tokyo Olympics, that the IBA will have no involvement in bouts at the mega-event. Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday following the IOC Executive Board meeting, IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said boxing is still "on hold" for the 2028 Olympics. "Following the decision by the IOC Session last year, the inclusion of boxing in the LA28 Olympic programme is on hold and not confirmed," McConnell said. "If there is no boxing body suppo

Olympic Boxing Qualifier: Horrid run for India, 4th boxer out in 1st round

Reigning national champion Lakshya Chahar became the fourth Indian boxer to crash out in the opening round of the first World Olympic Boxing Qualifier here. Competing in the men's 80kg event, Chahar was knocked out in the third round by 2021 Asian Championships silver medallist Gheshlaghi Meysam of Iran here on Monday. Having lost the first round 2-3, Chahar got himself back in the game by taking the second round 3-2. He was level on three cards before he suffered a knock out in the final round. All four Indian boxers, who have taken the ring here, have failed to move to the second round. World Championships bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (+92kg) and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) all lost their respective first rounds. Five Indian boxers, including world championships bronze medallist Mohammed Hussamudin and six-time Asian Championships medal winner Shiva Thapa, are still in the fray for earning Pa

Boxing legend Pacquaio can't compete in Paris Olympics due to age limit

The International Olympic Committee will not change its rules to let boxing great Manny Pacquaio compete at the Paris Games aged five years beyond the entry limit. Pacquaio, who retired in 2021, wanted to box at age 45 in the Olympic tournament in Paris where medal bouts will be held in the Roland Garros tennis complex. The IOC said Sunday it wrote to Olympic officials in Philippines explaining the age limit for boxers of 40 will be upheld. The IOC now oversees Olympic boxing after de-recognizing the International Boxing Association governing body. The age limit for Olympic boxing was raised to 40 from 34 in 2013 a move that would have let Pacquaio try to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He chose not to at the time when he was also elected to be a senator in his home country. It is unclear if Pacquaio would have tried to earn a place at the Paris Olympics in one of two qualification tournaments that open later this month in Italy and in May in Thailand. The Philippine

Strandja Memorial Boxing: Amit, Sachin strike gold; Nikhat wins silver

World Championship medallist Amit Panghal and Sachin Siwach won a gold each, while Nikhat Zareen and three other Indians signed off with silver medals at the 75th Strandja Memorial tournament here on Sunday. The 2019 worlds silver medallist Panghal (51kg) pulled off a dominating 5-0 triumph over Kazakhstan's Sanzhar Tashkenbay in the men's flyweight final. Sachin (57kg), a world youth champion, changed the colour of his medal from the last edition from bronze to gold as he out-punched Uzbekistan's Shakhzod Muzafarov by a 5-0 verdict. However, two-time world champion Zareen (50kg), Arundhati Choudhary (66kg), Barun Singh Shagolshem (48kg) and Rajat (67kg) settled for silver medals after going down in their respective bouts. In a commanding performance, Panghal landed powerful punches and Tashkenbay simply had no answers. Panghal had clinched the bronze medal in 2017 while winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. However despite his dominant run here, the Armyman from Haryana,

Nikhat, Amit Panghal among six Indian boxers in final at Strandja Memorial

Dominant efforts by two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal headlined Indian boxers' march into six finals at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament here on Saturday. Nikhat (50kg) started her bout cautiously against home girl Zlatislava Chukanova, taking some time to get into the rhythm but did not lose hold of the game as she won the round 3-2. Nikhat was clinical in the second round, giving no room to her Bulgarian opponent while delivering some accurate blows. The Indian continued her domination in the third round as well and she maintained the composure, giving her opponent no chance of a comeback to seal the match with a 5-0 verdict. Nikhat will square off against Uzbekistan's Sabina Bobokulova in the gold medal match on Sunday. It was an easy day at the office for Panghal (men's 51kg) as he won his third consecutive match with a unanimous 5-0 decision, this time against Turkey's Gumus Samet. Amit used his experience to attack

'This is not true': Pugilist Mary Kom rubbishes reports of retirement

Mary Kom retirement: The boxer said that even if she cannot participate in the Olympics anymore, she will still carry on with the sport

Star boxer Mary Kom hangs her gloves, announces retirement from boxing

Mary is the first female boxer in boxing history to have captured six world titles

Amit Panghal not part of Paris Olympics 2024 world qualification tourney

World Championships bronze medallists Deepak Bhoria and Nishant Dev will be among nine Indian boxers in the running to seal Paris Olympic quotas at the first qualification tournament, scheduled to take place in Busto Arsizio, Italy from February 29 to March 12. Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze winner Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) were also named in the nine-member Indian squad announced by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) on Monday. Apart from Deepak (51kg), who once again pipped 2019 World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal based on BFI's evaluation process, and Nishant (71kg), 2022 Worlds bronze winner Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), who was out with a knee injury for most of last year, makes a return. Youth women's world champion Ankushita Boro (66kg), reigning national champions Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Sanjeet Kumar (92kg), Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (+92kg) have also been included, and

Boxing Day 2023: History, importance, why do we celebrate, and wishes

Boxing Day is all about celebrating the grand festival of Christmas and basking in the festivities of the season by engaging in acts of charity and caring for people

Asian Games 2023: Lovlina enters 75 kg final, Preeti settles for bronze

World champion Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) locked an Olympic quota for herself by moving to the final while young Indian boxer Preeti Pawar (54kg) signed off with a bronze medal at the Asian Games here on Tuesday. Borgohain, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, cleverly managed her bout against Asian Championship silver medallist Baison Manikon of Thailand to take a unanimous decision win and book her ticket for next year's Paris Games Preeti, on the other hand, put up a good show but lost 0-5 to reigning flyweight champion China's Chang Yuan. She has already secured an Olympic quota. Both Southpaw boxers showcased their high skill and ring IQs in the opening three minutes. While Preeti looked to poke and peck with a right hook, the Chinese kept landing right hooks. At one point, the 19-year-old Indian landed a double jab, followed by two right hooks and two body shots to score crucial points. But Chang replied aggressively with a right cross and a flurry of jabs. The Chinese boxer w