Boxing
India at Olympics: Boxing - Best performances by Indian boxers
A look at the greatest boxing performances by India in the history of the Olympic Games.
Best Boxing Performances by India at the Olympics.
Indian boxing has been on the rise ever since Vijender Singh's historical bronze medal finish in Beijing and is one of the very few events in which Indian sports fans can expect a medal in Tokyo 2020.
Let us have a look at the greatest boxing performances by India at the games throughout history:
Mary Kom (London, 2012) - Flyweight, 51 Kg
Mary Kom's bronze medal finish in the London 2012 Olympics in the flyweight category of 51kg was a defining moment in Indian boxing. Kom faced Karolina Michalczuk (Poland) in the Round of 16 and won 19-14 before setting up a quarter-final clash with Maroua Rahali (Tunisia) to run away a 15-6 winner to confirm a bronze medal.
She went down to eventual gold medal winner, Nicola Adams (Great Britain) by 6-11 in the semi-final.
Vijender Singh (Beijing, 2008) - Middleweight, 75 Kg
Vijender Singh's bronze medal finish in the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the middleweight 75kg category was the first-ever boxing medal for India at the games. Singh squared up with Badou Jack (Gambia) in the Round of 32 and won the bout with a landslide 13-2 victory.
Also Read: India is 80% ready for Olympics — Boxing High Performance Director
Singh eased past Angkhan Chompuphuang (Thailand) in the Round of 16 with a dominating 13-3 victory yet again. Singh got the better of Carlos Gongora (Ecuador) with a 9-4 scoreline before succumbing to an 8-5 defeat to Emilio Correa (Cuba) in the semi-final.
Vikash Krishan Yadav (Rio de Janeiro, 2016) - Middleweight, 75 Kg
Vikash Krishan Yadav went till the quarter-final stage in the Middleweight 75 kg category, to the eventual gold medal winner Bektemir Melikuziev (Uzbekistan).
He got the better of Charles Conwell (USA) and Onder Sipal (Turkey) in the Round of 32 and 16 respectively.
Vijender Singh (London, 2012) - Middleweight, 75 Kg
Vijender Singh missed out on a consecutive medal finish in the Olympics as he finished in the quarter-finals in the Middleweight 75 kg category.
He faced his exit against Abbos Aloev (Uzbekistan) with a 17-13 loss after overcoming Danabek Suzhanov (Kazakhstan) and Terrell Gausha (USA) in the previous rounds.
Devendra Singh (London, 2012) - Light Flyweight, 49 Kg
Devendra Singh punched above his weight and made it to the quarter-finals of the Light Flyweight category. He got past the challenges from Bayron Molina (Honduras) and Purevdorjiin Serdamba (Mongolia) before succumbing to a defeat to Paddy Barnes (Ireland)
Jitender Kumar (Beijing, 2008) - Flyweight, 51 Kg
Jitender Singh got a walkover from retired hurt Furkan Memis (Turkey) and punched his way to the quarter-finals and faced his exit against Georgy Balakshin (Russia) after his win over Tulashboy Doniyorov (Uzbekistan).
Akhil Kumar (Beijing, 2008) - Bantamweight, 49 Kg
Akhil Kumar finished in the quarter-finals as well in his category after exiting the tournament with a defeat to Veaceslav Gojan (Moldova) after his wins over Ali Hallab (France) and Sergey Vodopyanov (Russia).
Gurcharan Singh (Sydney, 2000) - Light Heavyweight, 81 Kg
Gurcharan Singh's quarter-final finish was one of the earliest Boxing feats for India in the games. Singh overpowered the likes of Choi Ki-Soo (South Korea) and Danie Venter (South Africa) before succumbing to Andriy Fedchuk (Ukraine) in sudden death.
Rajendra Prasad (Barcelona, 1992) - Light Flyweight, 48 Kg
Rajendra Prasad went to the second round in the Olympics. He overcame the challenge posed by Andrzej Rzany (Poland) and faced his exit against Roel Velasco (Philippines).
Diwakar Prasad (Athens, 2004) - Bantamweight, 54 Kg
Diwakar Prasad (Red) (Image: PTI)
Diwakar Prasad was outclassed by Nestor Bolum (Nigeria) and the referee stopped the contest to avoid further injuries to Prasad in the Round of 16 after his first-round victory over Hamid Bighrade (Morocco).
