Narender to lead Indian team at World Boxing Cup in Brazil

Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal will headline a 10-member Indian men’s boxing team that was handed a mixed draw at the inaugural World Boxing Cup in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

This will be the first event hosted by World Boxing since receiving provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February and the inclusion of the sport in the 2028 LA Olympics.

Competitions will be held for both men and women, but India has sent only male boxers, as the women’s National Championships concluded on Thursday. It will be the first time Indian boxers compete internationally in the new weight categories introduced by World Boxing.

Boxers who finished first and second in each weight category at the National Championships in January travelled to Brazil for a week long camp. The reigning national champions, barring Sumit (85kg) who is unfit, will compete in the tournament and will be hoping to bring home at least half a dozen medals. The team does not include the likes of Nishant Dev and Amit Panghal, both of whom have turned professional, or veteran boxer Shiva Thapa and 2023 World Championship bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria, who had competed in the Paris Olympic qualifiers.