Paris Olympic qualifers, boxing: Sachin Siwach loses quarterfinal but hope is not lost yet; Jaismine stays on course

Sachin Siwach lost 0-5 to Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Carlo Paalam in the semi-finals of the 2nd Boxing World qualifiers in Bangkok on Saturday, while Jaismine Lamboriya continued her winning ways in the women’s 57kg category, beating Switzerland’s Anna Marija Millsic in a comprehensive 5-0 win in the pre-quarterfinals.

Siwach, however, is still in the mix for a Paris Olympics quota spot should he win the playoff bout for the third and final quota spot in his category. Jaismine too is a win away from regaining India’s Paris Games quota in the women’s 57kg. Originally the quota was won by Parveen Hooda at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but India lost that berth when Hooda had three whereabouts failures in a year and had to forfeit her spot at Paris.

Jaismine’s run at these World qualifiers have rarely come under threat. The tall southpaw, who usually fights out of the 60kg category, is quite long for the 57kg boxers and the reach advantage was utilised by her well on Saturday.

On many occasions, Millsic had to attempt to close the distance on Jaismine but there was always a right hook waiting for her when she stepped inside that sacred space. Jaismine for her part, planned her bout clinically. She chose the first round to allow Millsic to close the distance and whenever the opportunity arose, would slip a punch and then evade. Her strategy was safe and the judges all gave her the first round.

The second round was even easier with the Swiss boxer behind on the scorecard and having to double down on her failed strategy from the first round. Two of the five judges felt this was a 10-8 round in favour of Jaismine. The last round was a walk in the park at this point with the Indian boxer simply out-pointing her opponent for a spot in the quarterfinals.

While Jaismine may have come into her bout with confidence, so did Sachin Siwach, who had won an action-packed bout against France’s Samuel Kistohurry in the quarters.

Carlo Paalam though, is a different stratosphere of a boxer. A Tokyo medallist in the 52kg category, the Filipino puncher was transitioning to the 57kg spot and has been enduring mixed results in his race to reach Paris. But against Siwach, a boxer with limitless range at this weight, Paalam had his game plan sorted.

He relied on shorter, lightning quick combinations at close distances before darting out of the Bhiwani boxer’s reach. The bout was clearly decided in the first round where Siwach’s strategy let him down. Despite knowing that the Filipino was easily the faster of the two and would usually land first, he decided to continue attempting to fight his opponent’s battle, rather than his own style.

He engaged with Paalam, missed quite a few shots and left himself open to be hit. Against a boxer of this quality, that made him suffer. The next couple of rounds were then a matter of Paalam keeping his distance while Siwach swung wildly but didn’t connect.

He now must face Kyrgystan’s Munarbek Seiitbeck Uulu, the reigning 57kg World Championships bronze medallist. Beating the Kyrgyz boxer will be a tough ask. Out of all Indians, Siwach’s schedule has been the most draining, especially considering only three quotas are on offer in his category and an extra bout will have to be fought. Beating a World Champion level boxer will be the only way for him to realise his Paris ambitions.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.