Boxing
Men's boxing trials: Ashish Kumar, Satish make Olympic Qualifiers
Ashish Kumar, an Asian silver medalist in the 75kg weight category along with veteran Satish Kumar, who competes in the +91kg division, have sealed their spots in the Indian men's boxing side for next year's Olympic Qualifiers, while Vikas Krishnan (69kg) advanced to the finals of the boxing trials that is being held in Karnataka.
Ashish got the better of current national champion and a gold medal winner in the recent South Asian Games Ankit Khatana in a unanimous decision and sealed his spot for the Asia-Oceania Qualifiers for the Tokyo Games that will be held in Wuhan from February 3 to 14, 2020.
Satish too confirmed his spot in the event next year directly after beating Narender in a split verdict triumph. Joining the Commonwealth and Asian Games medalist in China was Sachin Kumar, who claimed a spot in the 81kg weight category after beating Brijesh Yadav.
The 81kg category was to feature Sumit Sangwan too, but his suspension for a year after failing a dope test meant that Sachin Kumar booked his flight to China directly.
In the other results, Vikas Krishnan moved into the final bout after a unanimous win over Ashish Kulheria. He will face Duryodhan Negi in the finals of the trials to decide the Indian boxer from the 69kg for the Qualifiers. Negi defeated Naveen Boora in a split decision on Sunday.
Gaurav Solanki, in the 57kg weight category, advanced to the finals of the trials after defeating Kavinder Singh Bisht, an Asian silver medalist, in a split decision. He will face Mohammed Hussamuddin, a Commonwealth bronze medal winner, who beat Sachin Siwach, a former youth world champion and a gold medalist at the South Asian Games this month.
In the 91kg category, Naveen Kumar won his bout against Gaurav Chauhan in a split decision, and will meet Naman Tanwar in the finals of the trials on Monday.
Earlier, Amit Panghal, in the 52kg weight category, and Manish Kaushik (63kg) sealed the spots for the Qualifiers after they won medals in the boxing World Championships that was held in September. Panghal had won a historic silver, while Kaushik brought home a bronze to automatically qualify for the Qualifiers in China.
Results from Day 1:
Semifinals-Day 1
57kg
Gaurav Solanki defeated Kavinder Bisht 6-3
Hussamuddin defeated Sachin Siwach 6-3
69Kg
Vikas Krishan defeated Ashish Kulheria 9-0
Duryodhan Negi defeated Naveen Boora 8-1
91kg
Naveen Kumar defeated Gaurav Chauhan 5-4
Finals (Will be part of Indian Squad)
75kg
Ashish Kumar defeated Ankit Khatana 9-0
81kg
Sachin Kumar defeated Brijesh Yadav 6-3
+91kg
Satish defeated Narender 6-3
Schedule for Day 2:
Md Hussamuddin vs Gaurav Solanki - 57kg
Vikas Krishan vs Duryodhan - 69kg
Naman Tanwar vs Naveen Kumar - 91kg
