IBA Men's World Boxing Championships 2023: Top five Indian boxers to watch out

Shiva Thapa is expected to lead the Indian contingent.

The IBA Men's World Boxing Championships 2023 is underway in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from May 1 to May 13, 2023. The championship will feature athletes from all continents. Boxers will compete for medals in 13 weight categories sanctioned by the International Amateur Boxing Association (IBA) Board of Directors in July 2021.

The event will have a total price money pool of INR 42 Crore, with the gold medallist receiving INR 16 Lakhs, the silver medallist receiving INR 8 Lakhs and for bronze medallist INR 4 Lakhs.

Here are the top five Indian boxers to watch out for at the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships:

List of Indian boxers to watch out for at the Men's World Boxing Championships

5. Mohammad Hussamuddin

The 28-year-old will be battling in the (56kg) will be competing in the Flyweight division. Born in Nizamabad, Telangana, Hussamuddin has won several medals in nationals and international competitions. Mohammad Hussamuddin won the bronze medal in his debut India International Open boxing championship, held in New Delhi.

Mohammad Hussamuddin won the bronze medal in 2018 at Commonwealth Games held in the Gold Coast, Australia. The Indian boxer won the silver medal in Feliks Stamm Tournament, and the silver medal at the 2021 ASBC Asian Boxing Championship held in Dubai, UAE. The two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medallist beat Macedonia’s Alen Rustemovski in the opening round with a 5-0 win.

4. Harsh Choudhary

The first-year BA student who hails from Rajasthan will be making his debut in the Men's World Boxing Championships in the (86kg) category. Harsh won the silver medal in the Senior National Boxing Championships and made his way to participate in the Worlds. He is the first boxer from Rajasthan to play at the Men's World Boxing Championships. Harsh won the gold medal at the third Khelo India Games.

3. Ashish Chaudhary

Being from family background filled with boxers, the (75kg) Middleweight boxer born in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh won the gold medal in the Junior State Competition in 2009. In 2015, Ashish won the gold in the 35th National Games held in Kerala. After all the hard work, Ashish made his international debut at the India Open International Boxing Championship and ended his tour in the quarterfinals.

In the 2019 Thailand Open, Ashsih claimed a gold medal in the middleweight category and later won the silver medal in the Asian Boxing Championship. He also won his maiden big bout in Indian Boxing League which was held in 2019. Ashish was awarded Parshuram Award by the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

Ashish has made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the IBA Boxing World Championships and will face two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez in the Round of 16s.

2. Deepak Bhoria

One of the most improved and developed boxers in recent times will be shouldering the country’s hopes in the 51kg Flyweight category. Deepak Bhoria got instant recognition on the global stage in 2021 when he defeating the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist and 2019 World Champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at the Strandja Memorial tournament.

Deepak won the gold medal at National Championships, Hisar. He will be leading the Indian contingent in the Men's World Boxing Championships with Shiva Thapa.

1. Shiva Thapa

Born in Guwahati Assam the (64kg) light welterweight boxer is inspired by Mike Tyson. Shiva Thapa began taking the sport seriously at a very young age. Thapa won the gold at Haider Aliyev Cup in 2008 which led him to Junior Men's World Boxing Championships, where he ended up with a bronze in 2009. With this achievement, he qualified for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, where he won silver in the 54kg category.

In 2012, Thapa clinched gold at Asian Olympic Qualifier and become the youngest boxer to qualify for the Olympics. Shiva Thapa become the youngest boxer to win the gold at Asian Confederation Boxing and became the third Indian Boxer to win a medal at AIBA Men's World Boxing Championships, where he won the bronze.