He had already scripted history but the Indian boxing ace said he wasn't quite done as he aimed for the gold in the World Championship
Where stalwarts like MC Mary Kom failed, Sonia Lather brought home a medal.
A day after Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala were named Life Presidents of the Indian Olympic Association, a top official of the IOA on Wednesday questioned the move, pointing out that it violated the Constitution of the top sports body.
After lending strong support to her cause, Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar met Commonwealth Games silver-medallist woman boxer L Sarita Devi, who is serving a one-year ban for her emotionally-charged protest at the Asiad.
Indian boxer Vikas Krishan, who forfeited his semi-final bout in the Asian Championships, won't be allowed to compete in the World Series of Boxing and will have to explain his no-show to a disciplinary committee of the national federation.
India's boxer Shiva Thapa says throwing caution to the wind and hurting rivals from the very first second is helping him rediscover himself after enduring an erratic season last year.
The female boxers have to spar against a host of obstacles. They all dream of glory in the ring, accompanied by the kind of prize money that will give them a better life than Katanga can offer.
Nikhat was hoping to challenge Mary Kom in the 51kg trials.
Entrusted with the task of undoing four years of damage, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president Ajay Singh says the bickering that has ruined the sport is not very difficult to control and he is confident of bringing in a professional approach in the set-up with his corporate experience.
'IOC has in the past sent letters to International Federations not to award major events to Spain after athletes from Kosovo were not allowed to participate under their own flag at the Karate World Championships. And you never know it might be India next'
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday announced a cash award of Rs 6.70 lakh for all the gold medal winners at the recently concluded Youth Women's World Boxing Championships in Guwahati.
Six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) was beaten by Turkey's Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semi-finals and had to settle for a bronze medal in the World Women's Boxing Championships, in Ulan-Ude, on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Manipuri has been an ambassador of the sport not just in India but also the world over
The IOC said the refusal of visas for competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter relating to discrimination and political interference from the host country.
Amit Panghal said he was sure of a podium finish after putting in the hard yards ahead of the prestigious tournament.
Every medal is a story of struggle, says the indomitable M C Mary Kom, who considers her fifth Asian Championship gold medal special as it came despite the many roles she has had to play outside the ring in the past one year.
'I have been told by the committee members that I should now join back training and start preparing for the World Championships. I think the committee members are empathetic towards whatever happened'
Veteran boxer Sarita Devi, who is currently serving a provisional suspension, has found support from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar who has written a letter to the Sports Minister urging him to support her and ensure that her career is not terminated prematurely.
Three Union ministers came out in support of boxer Sarita Devi as sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal sought a report from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on pugilist's controversial loss against Korean boxer in the semi-final of the Asian Games in Incheon.
She understands the emotion behind L Sarita Devi's tearful protest on the Asian Games podium but M C Mary Kom, who became the first Indian woman boxer to win gold at the mega-event, said faced with a similar crisis, she would have shown dissent differently.
'She has not forgotten where she comes from.' 'It is unfortunate that we do not celebrate her boxing career, but she says she has learned to be happy.' 'All the rejections and corruption has given her courage.'
Five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom has a new admirer in American legend Evander Holyfield, who says he follows her exploits and finds her achievements great.
The Sports Ministry will depute an observer for the much-awaited elections, scheduled for September 25 in Mumbai, to constitute a new Boxing Federation of India.
Five-time world champion Mary Kom and her colleague Sarita Devi continued to impress the crowd with agile movements for the second day in a row, outplaying their opponents in the South Asian Games qualifiers in Shillong on Wednesday. Sarita defeated a tough opponent P Basumatary in the quarterfinal round to proceed in the South Asian Games qualifiers and test event at the NEHU, SAI Special Area Games. Mary Kom on the other hand made mincemeat of Soniya in her bout to sail into the next round. Sarjubala Devi, Aruna Mishra and Pooja Rani also beat their opponents to move ahead.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Mary Kom would look to go one step closer towards her sixth gold when she takes the ring in the 48kg semifinals, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
MC Mary Kom will never be able to forget the 26-year-old Azize, who dashed her 2016 Rio Olympic dreams by defeating her in the second round of the 2016 World Championships in Astana.
A year after he took over as the Indian Boxing Federation's President, which was followed by its international suspension, Abhishek Matoria's election for the top post has been challenged by the very body he claimed to represent in the controversial polls.
Assured of an Olympic berth, Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (75kg) settled for a bronze medal in the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament.
Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Asian Games champion Vikas Krishan (75kg) qualified for the Rio Olympics after advancing to the semi-finals of the AIBA World qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.
Indian boxer Sumit Sangwan (81kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinal of the AIBA World Olympic qualification tournament after notching up a hard-fought win over eighth seed Juan Carlos Carrillo of Colombia in Baku.
The lack of an effective Indian boxing federation has damaged the competitiveness of the sport and contributed to the decline of boxing in the country, women's Olympic flyweight bronze medallist MC Mary Kom said on Tuesday.
Banned from competition for a year, Asian Games bronze medallist L Sarita Devi said she would utilise the period by taking corrective measures in her technique so that she can be ready for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Sonia Lather (57kg) stood just one win away from ending India's six-year-old gold medal drought at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship as she advanced to final after outpunching Kazakhstan's Aizhan Khojabekova in the last-four stage in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday. The 24-year-old Sonia, who is a 2012 Asian Championships silver-medallist, defeated Khojabekova 3-0 to set up a clash with Italian Alessia Mesiano, who got the better of Bulgaria's Denitsa Eliseeva by a similar margin. The lone Indian left in the fray, Sonia was quick off the blocks against her rather sloppy rival. Combining right hooks with power-packed jabs, Sonia threw Khojabekova off balance on more than one occasion. Khojabekova was mostly clueless when it came to defending herself and her feeble attempts at attack were blocked or evaded effortlessly by the quick-thinking Haryana girl. In the end, it was hardly a surprise that judges ruled unanimously in Sonia's favour.
Vijender Singh might say that he would give Olympic qualification a shot after doors were thrown open for professional boxers but his UK-based promoter Francis Warren, on Monday, made it clear that India's biggest star simply does not have the time left to try for a Rio ticket.
A much-changed Real Madrid ground out a 2-0 victory at third-tier Fuenlabrada in their King's Cup last-32 first leg on Thursday, needing two dubious penalties to break down their stubborn hosts as both sides finished with 10 men.
Pinki Rani replaced an injured M C Mary Kom, while Priyanka Choudhary came in for the suspended Sarita Dev in the Indian squad announced for the Women's World Boxing Championships to be held at Jeju, South Korea from November 13 to 25.
The two boxers, who had signed up with the Indian Boxing Council (IBC), will be re-joining the national camp after submitting letters of apology to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for abruptly leaving the amateur circuit.
Boxer Sarita Devi's emotional refusal to wear the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium inside the Seonhak Gymnasium in Incheon on Wednesday has not gone down well with some members of the Indian contingent.
