Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) stood just one win away from making the cut for the Rio Olympics after advancing to the quarter-finals of the International Boxing Association’s World quali
Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) stood just one win away from making the cut for the Rio Olympics after advancing to the quarter-finals of the International Boxing Association’s World qualifying tournament at Baku in Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
Later, L. Devendro Singh (49kg) stormed into the semi-finals, defeating South Africa’s Bandla Sibusiso 3-0 in the quarter-final. Devendro is assured of a medal after the day’s win but will have to make the summit clash to qualify for Rio as only two quota places are up for grabs in the 49kg division.
While Manoj, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, got the better of Bulgaria’s Ismetov Ayrin Smetov 2-1, Sumit stormed past Sandagsuren Erdeneb-ayar of Mongolia 3-0.
Both will have to win their quarter-finals on Thursday to be assured of AN Olympic berth. Manoj rallied to beat Ismetov in his Round of 16 contest. The Indian fought back after losing the opening round against an aggressive rival.
“Manoj endured a 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.
The former Asian bronze medallist will now face Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon, who defeated Bahrain’s Williams Rashield in his pre-quarter-final bout. Sumit, on the other hand, hardly broke sweat to out-punch Erdenebayar.
