The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin is set to begin proceedings for India on the opening day at the 2021 ASBC Asian Boxing Championships as per the draw revealed on Sunday in Dubai.
AIBA has allocated USD 400,000 as prize money for the tournament. The men's side were handed a relatively tough draw as compared to their women counterparts at the prestigious event which is jointly hosted by the Boxing Federation of India and UAE Boxing Federation.
Alongside Hussamuddin, the 2013 Asian Championship gold medallist Shiva Thapa (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) will also begin their campaign on Day 1.
Defending champion Amit Panghal (52kg), who received a bye in the first round and is among the six Indian men to start in the last-8 stage, is expected to square up against Mongolia's Enkhmanadakh Kharkhuu.
The duo had last met at the Olympic qualifiers in Jordon in a nail-biting contest where the Indian managed to succeed.
Another Olympic-qualified Indian Ashish Kumar (75kg), who also received a bye in the first round, is expected to be challenged by the World Championships silver medallists Kazakhstan's Abilkhan Amankul.
In the +91kg category, Narender will be up against another Kazak boxer and two-time World Championships silver medallist Kamshibek Kunkabayev in the first round
Seven women boxers including MC Mary Kom (51kg), Lalbuatsaihi (64kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Monika (48kg), Saweety (81kg) and Anupama (+81kg) will begin their campaign in the semi-final stage.
Among men, six will start in the quarters including Panghal, Varinder Singh (60kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Narender.
Participation of more than 27 countries was expected initially. However, due to recent travel restrictions, some of the countries couldn't participate.
The event is now set to witness action in presence of 150 pugilists from 17 counties including strong boxing nations such as India, Uzbekistan, Philippines and Kazakhstan.
The matches at the 2021 Asian Championships are scheduled to commence on Monday. In the last edition of the Championships held in Bangkok in 2019, the Indian team returned with an unprecedented 13 medals including two gold.
Indian squad:
(Men): Amit Panghal (52kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (56kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Shiva Thapa (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Narender (+91kg).
(Women): Monika (48kg), MC Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi (54kg), Jasmine (57kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg), Lalbuatsaihi (64kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Saweety (81kg) and Anupama (+81kg).
( With inputs from ANI )
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