At the World Boxing Champio nships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Indian boxers Mohammad Hussamudin and Deepak Bhoria had to settle for bronze medals.
In a tough battle that required a bout review, Deepak lost his fight to France’s Bilal Bennama, a two-time World Championships bronze medalist.
On the flip side, Mohammed Hussamuddin got injured in the quarter-final against Bulgarian boxer J, Diaz Ibanez and had to refrain from participating in the semi-final. If he was fit, he would have faced Cuban boxer Saidel Horta in the crucial semi-final.
Bilal Bennama who defeated Deepak Bhoria in the quarter-final will face India’s Deepak Kumar in the semi-finals of the 51 kg category of the tournament. If Deepak advances to the semifinals, he would likely face either Rio Olympics gold medallist Hasanboy Dusmatov or Spanish Europa champion Martin Molina.
Mohammad Hussamuddin hails from Nizamabad and competes in the 57kg category whereas Deepak Bhoria competes in the 51 kg category. India is tied for fourth place in the medal standings in the prestigious competition with at least three medals that have been confirmed, trailing only the tournament’s hosts Uzbekistan (9 medals), Cuba (6 medals), Russia (6 medals), and Kazakhstan (5 medals).
There will be 538 boxers from 107 different nations competing in the tournament. Gold medal winners will receive USD 2,00,000. Silver medal winners will receive USD 100,000, while bronze medal winners will receive USD 50,000.