IBA World Boxing Championships 2023: Hussamudin, Bhoria sign off with bronze after giving semis walkover

IBA World Boxing Championships 2023: India earned its first tournament medal, with Mohammad Hussamudin settling for bronze. He pulled out of his semis bout against Saidel Horta for injuring his knee in the quarterfinal.

Indian boxers Deepak Bhoria (51kg) and Mohammad Hussamudin (57kg) signed off with bronze medals at the World Championships at the Humo Arena in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday. Deepak went down fighting to two-time World Championships bronze medallist France's Bilal Bennama 3-4 split verdict in a close contest which went into bout review.

On the other hand, Hussamudin was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a knee injury about an hour before his semifinal bout. The 29-year-old Hussamudin sustained a knee injury in his quarterfinal bout against J Diaz Ibanez of Bulgaria and decided against risking aggravation. "Hussamuddin gives a walkover due to injury and settles for bronze. He had a knee injury in the last bout, after which he had pain and swelling," the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said in a statement.

 "After careful and detailed assessment by the medical team, Team Management has decided that he won't take part in the semi-final bout, which is to take place today, as he doesn't want the injury to aggravate but rather recover for future competitions," added BFI. Hussamudin, competing in his debut World Championships, was scheduled to face Cuba's Saidel Horta in the last-four clash.