India began its campaign on a disappointing note with World championships bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria (51kg) and Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (+92kg) losing their respective round-of-64 bouts in the first World Olympic boxing qualifier at the E-Work Arena in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on Sunday.
Bhoria exited after suffering a narrow 2-3 defeat to two-time European under-22 champion Nijat Huseynov of Azerbaijan. Huseynov used his pace and swift movement to take the first two rounds with an identical 3-2 margin. Bhoria went all out to secure a 4-1 verdict in the third, but it was too little too late.
Later, Berwal lost 0-5 to 2022 European champion Nelvie Tiafack of Germany. Tiafack dominated throughout the bout against Berwal, who conceded a point after being warned. Berwal managed to challenge his opponent in the first two rounds, but the German won those with 4-1 and 3-2 margins before claiming the final three-minute period with a 5-0 scoreline.
