Bhiwani elated over boxers’ Tokyo ticket

Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Hisar, March 9

Boxing lovers in Bhiwani are elated over the Olympic ticket to two boxers — Vikas Krishan and Pooja Rani. They have ensured participation in the Tokyo Olympics after clearing the Olympic qualifying tournament in Amman on Sunday.

Pooja’s father Rajbir Singh, resident of Nimdiwali village in Bhiwani, said the family were happy over her selection in the Olympics.

“Pooja had promised that she would secure her position when she departed for the qualifying tournament. She is a girl of commitment. I am sure that she will win a medal in the Olympics,” he said.

He said he had been receiving congratulatory calls on his mobile phones after Pooja became the first Indian boxer to get a ticket to Tokyo.

Pooja (29) will participate in the middleweight category. She had won bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games. Though she failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016, she had the chance to prove herself in Tokyo, said her father.

Vikas qualified for Tokyo in the lightweight category to become the second Indian boxer to represent the country in three Olympics. Earlier, Vijender Singh had participated in three Olympics. Vikas had participated in London Olympics in 2012 and in Rio four years later.

His father Krishan Kumar Yadav said he got the news about Vikas over mobile phone as he was travelling. He said Vikas was well-prepared and would return from Tokyo with a medal.

Yadav said Vikas had won gold in both Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in 2018. Hailing from Singhwa Khas village in Hisar, Vikas’ family had settled in Bhiwani.