India's boxers have been dealt with a tough set of draws at the Paris Olympics. While Nikhat Zareen, who is unseeded, goes up against some of the best boxers in her weight division from bout #1, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain faces two-time Olympic medallist Li Qian early in the competition.
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The two men - Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev - have a slightly easier draw and will be looking to add to Vijender Singh's bronze from 2008. ESPN looks at each Indian boxer's draw, what their path to the medal rounds is like and what their Paris Olympics medal chances are.
Nikhat Zareen - Women's 50kg
What the draw looks like: No two ways to say it: Nikhat has been given the toughest draw.
Why? Nikhat is unseeded at the Paris Olympics because the IOC does not recognize the IBA and hence her IBA-organized World Championship titles are not taken into account. Hence, she gets no byes and will have to fight four bouts to make the final [just like she had to at the 2023 Worlds and Asian Games].
Opening rounds: She begins her campaign against Germany's Maxi Klotzer, who won the 2023 World Boxing Cup. Nikhat should get past her, after which she will face China's Wu Yu in the round of 16. This will be a tough bout as Yu is the top seed, the World champion in the 52kg division and also won the Asian Games gold last year. However, Nikhat will have the advantage of already having fought a bout, while it will be Yu's first.
Path to the medals: Should Nikhat beat Yu, the real challenge awaits her: either Uzbekistan's Sabina Bobokulova or Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat. Nikhat has lost two bouts since 2022 - the first to Raksat in the Asian Games semifinal and the second to Bobokulova at the 2024 Strandja Memorial. But if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that Nikhat would have gone above and beyond in her prep to find a way past these two boxers. A win here would guarantee Nikhat a medal as she would the semifinal, where she could potentially face Asian Games bronze medallist Oyuntsetsegiin Yesugen, Olympic bronze and two-time Worlds medallist Ingrit Valencia [who beat Mary Kom in Tokyo] or two-time World champion Nazym Kyzaibay. Should the seeds hold in the bottom half of the draw, then Nikat could run into Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Bus Naz Cakiroglu, with whom she recently trained in Turkey.
Can she medal? Yes. While the draw isn't ideal for Nikhat, she still has a good shout for a medal. Nikhat has risen to the challenge time and again and that's what has made her India's best boxer since Tokyo and a two-time World champion. Sure, she faces the Asian Games champion and could then take on one of the two boxers she has lost to...but let's not forget that she lost to them via split verdict.
Preeti Pawar - Women's 54kg
What the draw looks like: Far from easy.
Opening rounds: Preeti's campaign will begin against Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh in the round of 32 and a win would set up a clash with World's silver medallist and second seed Yeni Arias.
Path to medals: Arias will be hard to beat but if Preeti can pull off a surprise, either Pan American Games bronze medallist Tatiana Chagas or former Youth World champion and Tokyo Olympian Im Ae-ji will stand between her and a semifinal appearance.
Can she medal? Looks very tough, she's up against some quality opponents in what will be her maiden Olympic campaign.
Jaismine Lamboria - Women's 57kg
What the draw looks like: The worst of the lot.
Why? Like Nikhat, Jaismine will also need to fight four bouts to make the final and is up against some of the best boxers in her division from the get-go.
Opening round: She faces Philippines' Nesthy Petecio in the round of 32. Petecio is a Tokyo Olympics silver medallist and a former world champion.
Path to medals: If she bests Petecio, Jaismine will be up against Frenchwoman Amina Zidani in the pre-quarters. The 30-year-old is a European Games champion and won bronze at the 2023 Worlds. Up next would be Italy's Irma Testa, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics and the reigning world champion.
Can she medal? Unlikely. Jaismine will have to punch far beyond her weight to get past the opening couple of rounds and her chances of winning a medal look bleak.
Lovlina Borgohain - Women's 75kg
What the draw looks like: Unfavourable.
Why? She will face China's Li Qian in the quarterfinal. Qian had beaten Lovlina to the gold medal at the Asian Games and is a two-time Olympic medallist. Qian had also recently defeated Lovlina at the Grand Prix in Czechia. However, Lovlina had beaten Qian at the 2023 Worlds, so there is hope.
Opening round: Norway's Sunniva Hofstad, should be a routine win for Lovlina.
Path to the medals: Should Lovlina beat Qian, she is likely to face either Caitlin Parker [who she had beaten for the World Championship title] or three-time World's medallist Khadija El-Mardi in the semifinal. She could then face either World's bronze medallist Davina Michel or European champion Aoife O'Rourke in the final.
Can she medal? Yes. Lovlina is up against a familiar bunch of boxers and will back herself for a second successive Olympic medal. Qian has beaten her in their last two encounters, but Lovlina will gain faith from the fact she had comprehensively beaten her enroute to the World's gold medal in 2023. Lovlina will also have the upper hand if she faces Parker in the semis, giving her a fine chance to upgrade her bronze from Tokyo.
Amit Panghal - Men's 51kg
What the draw looks like: Not too bad.
Why? Though he is making a comeback to the Indian team after an almost two-year hiatus, Amit will back himself to get past his first two bouts.
Opening round: Amit faces third seed Patrick Chinyemba in his opening bout. The Zambian competed at the Tokyo Olympics and is a bronze medallist from the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Amit had beaten him enroute to his gold medal at the CWG.
Path to medals: He would next be up against Thailand's Thitisan Panmot, who is an Asian Games silver medallist. A win here would set up a semifinal clash against either either Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Saken Bibossinov or a long-term rival in Hasanboy Dusmatov - the 2016 Olympic champion, 2023 World champion, 2023 Asian Games champion and three-time Asian champion. Amit had notably beaten the Uzbek to win the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 Asian Championships, but this won't be an easy bout.
Can he medal? There's a very realistic chance that Amit can exorcise the demons of Tokyo to climb the podium in Paris. The colour of the medal will depend on how he performs against Hasanboy, but Amit should fancy his chances considering he has beaten him in their last two clashes.
Nishant Dev - Men's 71kg
What the draw looks like: Very, very good.
Why? Nishant has gotten a bye in the opening round and will begin his Paris 2024 campaign directly in the round of 16. That basically means he needs to win two bouts to assure himself of at least a bronze.
Opening round: He faces Ecuador's Jose Rodriguez in the pre-quarterfinal, which should be a smooth win for the Indian.
Path to medals: Nishant is likely to face Pan American champion Marco Verde in the quarterfinal. Nishant had beaten the Mexican when they last fought in Belgrade in 2021. Up next would be one of World Champion Aslanbek Shymbergenov [lost to him in May], Asian Games champion Sewon Okazawa [lost to him at the Asian Games], Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Lewis Richardson [beat him at the 2024 Olympic Qualifiers] or European Games silver medallist Vahid Abasov.
Can he medal? He can and he should. Nishant should, at the very least, win a bronze. He's one of the most promising boxers in this weight division and could very well even go further.