Teen sensation L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) booked Olympic berths by advancing to the World Boxing Championships' quarter-finals with contrasting wins in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
While Manoj rallied to defeat China's Qing Hu 17-15, 19-year-old Devendro continued his giant-killing spree by beating seventh seed Carlos Quipo of Ecuador 18-12 with another impressive performance.
The duo sealed berths for the Olympic Games, becoming the first lot of Indian boxers to qualify for the mega-event.
The top 10 boxers (from 49kg to 81kg) make the Olympic cut, while boxers in the 91kg and +91kg category have to finish among the top-six to book their London tickets.But there was disappointment too for India, as Asian Games silver-medallist and 12th seed Dinesh Kumar bowed out after a 7-16 loss to Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Damien Hooper of Australia.
Manoj was the first to take the ring for India and the counter-puncher, who has won the coaches' admiration for his calculative approach and adaptability, again impressed with a composed performance.
The Haryana-boxer was trailing 3-6 in the opening round, but bounced back brilliantly to go level 7-7 in the second round and narrow the overall gap to 10-11. He went on the offensive in the final round, securing seven points against his opponent's two to clinch victory.
Manoj will now face fifth seed Thomas Stalker of England. Stalker, a European Championship silver-medallist, defeated Russia's Alexander Solyanikov 17-9.
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