Manoj, Sumit inch closer to Olympic berth

BAKU (AZERBAIJAN): Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) stood one win away from making the cut for Rio Olympics after

Published on: Jun 22, 2016, 12:43:52 IST

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BAKU (AZERBAIJAN): Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) stood one win away from making the cut for Rio Olympics after advancing to the quarterfinals of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament, on Tuesday.

While Manoj got the better of Bulgaria’s Ismetov Ayrin Smetov 2-1, Sumit stormed past Sandagsuren Erdenebayar of Mongolia 3-0. Both of them will have to win their quarterfinal bouts on Thuursday to be assured of an Olympic berth.

“Manoj endured a very tough bout but to his credit, he not just hung in there but also fought back brilliantly. His opponent was a very sharp puncher but he sustained a cut in the second round which slowed him down. Manoj took advantage of it and came back,” national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.

Former World Championships bronze-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) also advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Japan’s Takahashi Makoto.

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