Indian male boxers fully prepared for IBA Men's World Boxing Championships in Tashkent

Modified Apr 30, 2023 22:46 IST

At the upcoming IBA World Boxing Championships (Men), the focus will be on the lightweight group for Indian followers. Especially in the spotlight would be Deepak Bhoria, who will be competing in the 51kg category during the 2023 edition of the event, scheduled to start on May 1 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

While the fixtures were announced on Sunday, the main competition in the 13 weight categories will commence on Monday.

“He (Deepak) has showcased his skills during sparring here with foreign players here in Tashkent,” Dharmendra Yadav, one of the boxing coaches associated with the national team, told Sportskeeda over the phone from Tashkent. “We expect good results from him in the World Boxing Championships.”

The Indian team reached Tashkent on April 17 to get acclimatized to the local weather conditions and avail facilities for sparring with foreign players.

Expand Tweet

Apart from the pugilists of hosts Uzbekistan, the Indian team also had a chance to spar with Algerian, Moroccan, and Kazakhstan boxers.

“The national team is healthy and all the boxers are ready to face the challenge of the World Boxing Championships,” the national coach added. “The preparation has gone well, but the fixture is tough.”

The 25-year-old Deepak Bhoria got involved with combat sports early. But financial constraints and a fracture on his right hand made things difficult for the Indian boxer in his formative years.

Things got better when he joined the Indian Army in 2016. Two years later, he won the gold medal in his weight category at the national meet, while his international debut in 2019 also fetched him gold.

For the World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Bhoria outclassed Olympian Amit Panghal to book his place in the national team.