Satish Kumar, Ashish Kumar, Lovlina, Vikas Krishan, Pooja Rani earn quotas at Asian Olympic qualifiers
Vikas Krishan defeated Japan’s Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa in the 69kg men’s category to seal his berth in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
India took its total tally of Olympic quota at Asian Boxing Olympic qualifiers to five on Sunday as Satish Kumar defeated Mongolia’s Daivii Otgonbayar in +91kg category to reach semifinal. The Indian defeated his opponent by a 5-0 unanimous verdict. Ashish Kumar defeated Indonesia’s Muskita Maikhel Robberd in 75 kg bout quarterfinal to earn Tokyo Olympics quota. The Indian boxer earned a win over his opponent via a 5-0 unanimous decision. Lovlina Borgohain defeated Uzbekistan’s Maftunakhon Melieva in the women’s 69kg category to give India another Tokyo Olympic quota in boxing. The 2019 World Championships bronze medal-winning boxer defeated her opponent via a 5-0 unanimous decision.
Earlier, Vikas Krishan defeated Japan’s Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa in the men’s 69kg quarterfinals of the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Amman (Jordan) on Sunday to book his spot in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. It was a hard-fought win for the Indian boxer as he had to stage a brilliant comeback after losing the first round of the bout. Sachin Kumar lost to China’s Chen Daxaing in the quarterfinals of the 81kg men’s category. But he remains in the hunt for an Olympic berth if he can win the two-bout box-off between the losing quarterfinalists. The top five boxers in his category will get a spot in the Tokyo Games.
Pooja Rani also booked her spot after beating Thailand’s Pomnipa Chutee in the 75 kg women category quarterfinals. She became the first Indian boxer to seal their berth in the 2020 Olympics. Rani defeated her 18-year-old rival 5-0 to be assured of a medal as well as her maiden Olympic spot in the Asia/Oceania Qualifying Tournament. The 29-year-old will face the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China in the semifinal encounter.
Rani won the first round with all five judges rating it 10-9 in her favour. The story remained the same in the second round as she once again dominated her opponent and claimed the round with 10-9 from all the five judges. Things did not change much in the final round as Rani was able to clinch the Olympic spot.
“I had never fought against this girl before today and honestly, I was a bit scared. I had told my coaches about it before the bout. They instilled confidence in me and I could pull off a one-sided result. I am happy,” she said.
Two other boxers can also book their Tokyo Olympics 2020 berth in their respective bouts.
Day Schedule (All bouts are for Olympic quotas)
Pooja Rani (75 kg)- 2:45 PM IST
Vikas Krishan (69kg)- 3:30 PM IST
Sachin Kumar (81 kg)- 4:30 PM IST
Lovlina (69kg)- 9:15 PM IST
Ashish Kumar (75kg)- 10:15 PM IST
Satish kumar (+91kg)- 11:15 PM IST
(With PTI inputs)
