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Tokyo-Olympics-bound Indian Manish Kaushik struck gold at the 35th Boxam meet in Castellon, Spain on Saturday. Eight Indian boxers finished their campaigns with silver medals. This came after several Indians were unable to make it to the ring, mainly due to COVID-19 related reasons.
Fighting in the 63kg category final, Manish Kaushik defeated Denmark’s Nikolai Terteryan by a split decision to win the gold medal.
India's Ashish Kumar, who was due to fight in the 75kg final tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. As a result, he was unable to take to the ring for his fight and had to give a walkover to his opponent.
Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) could also not take part in their respective finals, as they were Kumar's roommates at the tournament.
Another Indian boxer, Satish Kumar (+91kg), could not take part in his final as he was unwell.
Vikas Krishan (69kg) did compete in the final of his category but went down fighting in a close contest to Spain's Youba Sissokho.
Aside from Manish Kaushik, all five other Indian men finished their Boxam Meet campaign with silver medals.
On the women's side, Pooja Rani (75kg) went down to American Melissa Graham in her final while Jasmine (57kg) was defeated by Italy's Irma Testa.
Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) could not compete in her final since her semi-final opponent (Puerto Rico's Kiria Tapia) tested positive for COVID-19. Kaur tested negative for the virus, but local regulations meant that she was unable to participate in her final bout as well.
All three Indian women also ended their campaign with silver medals. Indian boxing legend MC Mary Kom won a bronze medal after going down in the semi-finals on Friday.
With this, India ended their Boxam campaign with 1 gold, 8 silvers and 1 bronze medal.
Manish Kaushik among 9 Indian boxers who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics
Manish Kaushik, who is on the comeback trail after a knee injury, is one of nine Indian boxers who have already secured their berths for the Tokyo Olympics.
The other Indian men's boxers on the list include Amit Panghal (52kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg).
On the women's side, MC Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) are among those who have qualified for the Tokyo Games.
