Amit Panghal and Pooja Rani at Olympics 2021 today (31 July): Boxing preview, category, schedule, when and where to watch (IST)

Following Lovlina Borgohain's success, all eyes will be on World Championships silver medalist Amit Panghal as he steps into the boxing ring at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 on Saturday morning. Along with Panghal, two-time Asian Championships gold medalist Pooja Rani will also be looking to make India proud on the same day.

The 25-year-old Amit Panghal, hailing from Haryana, has been one of India's most accomplished boxers in recent times. The flyweight boxer announced his arrival with a bronze at the Asian Championships in 2017 and has since added a medal from all elite competitions.

Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule

In 2018, he won the silver at the Commonwealth Games and went one better at the Asian Games to be crowned the champion. The following year, he bagged gold at the Asian Championships and made history as the first Indian pugilist to reach the World Championships final before finishing with the silver.

Amit Panghal has come to the Tokyo Olympics on the back of a silver medal at the Asian Championships and will hope to bring that form into a tough opener against Rio Olympic silver medalist Yurberjen Herney Martínez Rivas. The Colombian also has medals from the World Championships and the Pan American Games and will put the top-seeded Indian to a stern test.

Pooja Rani, meanwhile, started her campaign with a commanding 5-0 win over Algeria's 20-year-old Ichrak Chaib. While she thoroughly dominated the bout against the inexperienced Algerian, an uphill task now awaits Pooja.

In the quarterfinals, she faces Li Qian of China, who has been a dominant force in her weight category. In the last five years, the 31-year-old has won the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics and gold medals from both the World and Asian Championships.

The highly experienced Pooja herself has two gold medals to show from the Asian Championships but she will clearly need something special to knock out such an in-form opponent.

Amit Panghal & Pooja Rani categories

While Pooja Rani will compete in the 75kg category, Amit Panghal will be in action in the 52kg category.

Amit Panghal & Pooja Rani schedule

Amit Panghal's Round of 16 bout against Colombia's Yurberjen Herney Martínez Rivas is scheduled for 11.00 am local time or 7.30 am IST at Kokugikan Arena on Saturday, July 31, 2021.

Checkout: The Olympics 2021 Points Table

Pooja Rani's quarterfinal bout against China's LI Qian will take place at 7.06 pm local time or 3.36 pm IST on the same day.