Manoj Kumar stormed into the semi-finals of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament in Baku, thus securing a berth in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The former Asian bronze medallist got the better of Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon in the 64 kg category. He dominated the bout against an aggressive rival and won the first two rounds comfortably.
The 29-year-old pugilist from Haryana will be going to his second consecutive Games. In London 2012, he lost his pre-quarterfinal bout against World Number 1 Tom Stalker of Great Britain in a controversial manner.
As many as 68 boxers from 43 countries remain in contention for the 39 quota places in Baku. Vikas Krishan (75 kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) are in the fray for booking an August date in Rio later in the day. Tomorrow will feature Devendro Singh against Spain’s Samuel Heredia, who stunned top seed Dmytro Zamotaev of Ukraine in the 49-kg category.
The qualifiers is the last chance that amateur boxers have for the Olympics.
Also Read: Rio Olympics 2016: Mary Kom to miss out after being denied wildcard entry
For now, all Indian hopes will be pinned on Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumar to make the put up an extraordinary performance at the Olympic Games. Thapa has already qualified for the Rio Games in the 56 kg during the Asian qualifiers in March.
