Manoj Kumar (left) beat Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon 3-0 in the world qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday. (File Photo)
Manoj Kumar (left) beat Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon 3-0 in the world qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday. (File Photo)
Asian Games champion Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) on Thursday booked Olympic berths after advancing to the semi-finals of the International Boxing Association’s world qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Vikas and Manoj took the total number of Indian boxers assured of Olympic berths to three as Shiva Thapa (56kg) had made the cut for Rio during the Asian qualifiers in March. While Manoj thrashed Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon, second seed Vikas got past Korea’s Lee Dongyun in the quarter-finals by a similar 3-0 margin.
Manoj will next face European champion Pat McCormack of Britain in the semi-finals on Friday. McCormack defeated Frenchman Amzile Hassan in his quarter-final bout.
Vikas, on the other hand, will be up against Turkmenistan’s Achilov Arslanbek, who got past Italian Cavallaro Salvatore.
“Given the terrible state in which boxing is right now, I am relieved to have qualified for the Games. There was a lot of pressure on the team competing here and I am glad that I came good,” Manoj said. “I am thankful to the coaches, the sports ministry, the national coaching staff, the Sports Authority of India and my personal coach Rajesh, who is also my elder brother. Their efforts have helped me pull it off,” he added.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu described the duo’s performance on the day as dominating.
“Manoj dominated all rounds and boxed intelligently to qualify for the Games,” Sandhu said.
Vikas, however, is a doubtful starter at Friday’s semi-final after he sustained a cut on his face.
