Devendro, Vikas in team for AIBA Olympic boxing qualifiers

Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Asian Games bronze-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) will spearhead a nine-strong Indian team at the AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, starting June 16, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

India will not be represented in the 56kg division in the event as World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa has already qualified in the category from the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in March.

Shiva is the only Indian to have booked a Rio berth so far.

The World qualifiers are perhaps the last opportunity left for Indian boxers to make the cut for the Games in August.

In the light-fly and flyweight division, only the gold and silver winners qualify for the Olympics, while the top-five in the remaining eight weight divisions will get Rio berths.

There is a final Olympic qualifying event in July for those boxers competing in the International Boxing Association (AIBA)-promoted World Series of Boxing and AIBA Pro Boxing League -- the two semi-professional leagues where India does not have any presence.

The team selected for the Baku event does not have any surprises and features familiar names.

Mandeep Jangra, a silver-medallist at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, is a contender in the 69kg slot.

Gaurav Bidhuri, who did reasonably well in his World Series of Boxing stint last year, has been picked for the 52kg division.

The seasoned Manoj Kumar, a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, is the country’s bet for a quota place in the 64kg.

The team:

L Devendro Singh (49kg), Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg), Dheeraj Rangi (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg), Vikas Krishan (75kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg), Amritpreet Singh (91kg), Satish kumar (+91kg).

Image: Devendro Singh