Pooja Rani, Vikas Krishan book Olympics berths

Amman, March 8

Pooja Rani (75kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) became the first set of Indian boxers to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the semifinals of the Asian Olympics Qualifiers.

Fourth-seeded Rani notched up a facile 5-0 win over Thailand’s Pornnipa Chutee to become the first Indian boxer, man or woman, to make it to Tokyo. Krishan endured a tough fight against third-seeded Sewonrets Okazawa before prevailing in a unanimous verdict against the Japanese, a silver medallist at last year’s Asian Championships.

However, Sachin Kumar (81kg) went down in a split decision to China’s national champion Daxiang Chen in his quarterfinal bout. But he could still qualify for the Olympics if he wins the two-bout box-off between the losing quarterfinalists. The top-5 boxers in his category will get a spot in the Tokyo Games.

Third Olympics

Krishan, who will be making his third successive appearance at the quadrennial showpiece scheduled in July-August, had to work hard against his brilliant Japanese opponent, whose performance was eye-catching despite the loss. Okazawa kept Krishan on his toes and his right jabs were particularly effective. What worked for the Indian were his consistent straight punches to the body, which fetched him the bulk of his points. Awaiting Krishan in the semifinals is second-seeded Ablaikhan Zhussupov of Kazakhstan, who defeated Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk in a unanimous verdict.

Sachin was outscored by Chen, a taller man who found his range after trailing in the opening round. Using his telescopic range, Chen managed to connect some clean straights while Sachin paid for holding back too much after dominating the first round. — PTI

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Bhiwani’s Rani gets Tokyo ticket

Pooja Rani, who secured her maiden Olympics spot, said: “I had never fought against this girl before, and honestly, I was a bit scared. I had told my coaches about it before the bout. They instilled confidence in me and I could pull off a one-sided result. I am happy.” The 29-year-old Rani fought career-threatening shoulder and hand injuries before her gold at last year’s Asian Championships. Rani will next face the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China, who has the top billing in the 75kg category. Qian had no trouble in beating Mongolia’s Myagmarjargal Munkhbat 5-0 in the opening bout of the day.