A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Vijender Singh speaks about his journey from humble beginnings in Kalwash village of Bhiwani district to becoming the only Indian boxer who will have the unique distinction of partaking in three Olympics.
Indian boxers L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) fought gamely, but eventually ran out of steam against fancied opponents and bowed out in the quarter-finals, at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday. Having secured Olympic berths after reaching the quarter-finals, the Indians were aiming for medals at the mega event.
Olympic hero Vijender Singh was, on Saturday, ousted in the very first round, upstaged by his Cuban nemesis Emilio Correa Bayeux, but Jai Bhagwan entered the second round on a mixed day for Indian boxers at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Manoj Kumar eased past Valentino Knowles of the Bahamas, winning 17-11, to enter the second round in the light-welterweight (64kg) category and continue the Indian boxers' fine show at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday. Manoj, the lone Indian in action on Friday, has a tough bout next, as he is up against reigning European champion and fourth seed Raymond Moylette of Ireland.
Eleven days of action have failed to bring India, that won a record six medals in London four years ago, a single podium finish and there's growing desperation to end this poor run.
The Asian Olympic Qualifiers are his last chance to book a ticket to the London Games but starIndian boxer Vijender Singh claims he is least bit intimidated by the challenge at hand as the situation is all too familiar.
A warning in the closing few seconds cost Shiva Thapa (56kg) dearly as the promising Indian boxer settled for a silver medal after going down narrowly in the final of the 43rd men's and women's Grand Prix in Usti and Labem, Czech Republic.
The fear of COVID-19 pandemic has made way for a fierce desire to compete in star Indian boxer M C Mary Kom's mind as she gears up for her first tournament in a year next week, having recovered from the muscle loss triggered by a recent bout of dengue.
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) stunned ex-Olympic bronze-medallist Evaldas Petrauskas in a fiercely-contested opening bout to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the Rio Games.
Manjeet Singh had to content with a silver medal at the 3rd China Open boxing tournament after going down to local lad Akepeer Yusuf in the final of the super heavy weight category (+91kg), in Guiyang.
The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Olympic-bound Indian boxers Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan started their build-up for the mega-event on a winning note. Both entered the second round of the third International Republic of Kazakhstan President's Cup in Almaty.
Santosh Harijan and Mandeep Jangra registered easy wins to book quarter-final berths, but medal prospect Shiva Thapa pulled out owing to a shoulder injury as Indian boxers enjoyed mixed success at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea.
Unstoppable so far, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will now gun for his maiden title in the professional circuit when he fights for the WBO Asia belt come June in front of home fans in the national capital. The middleweight boxer, who earned worldwide fame by becoming India's first Olympic and World Championships medallist at the amateur level, has exhibited rampaging form even in the pro arena. Since his debut in the circuit last October, the 30-year-old from Haryana has won all his three pro contests via knockouts. His next bout is scheduled for March 12 in Liverpool, the opponent for which is yet to be named. "I am already excited. My first title fight, that too in front of my own people, in my own country. It cannot get better than this. I have no idea who my opponent is going to be but I am sure I will carry on the way I have so far," Vijender told PTI from Manchester where he is currently training for the March 12 showpiece.
Disappointment continued for Indian boxers at the World Championships, as Asian bronze medallist Jitender Kumar was disqualified during his bantamweight (54kg) first round bout in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday. Up against old nemesis and sixth seed Yunusov Anvar of Tajikistan, Jitender was disqualified after being given the mandatory three warnings for three different offences.
The swimmers led India's charge on Saturday by winning 7 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze as they completely dominated the pool yet again.
A memorandum to visiting Union Home Minister Amit A Shah, stated: 'Paramilitary forces might have been reluctant to prevent Kuki terrorists from attacking innocent civilians,' the news agency IANS reported.
Indian boxer Vikas Krishan settled for a silver medal at the Invitational Olympic test event after withdrawing from the welterweight (69kg) category final due to a wrist injury.
Amit Panghal said he was sure of a podium finish after putting in the hard yards ahead of the prestigious tournament.
Tokyo's grand opening on Friday will have none of that splendour or grandiosity.
Indian boxers packed a powerful punch as Jai Bhagwan (60kg) joined Commonwealth Games medallists Manoj Kumar (64kg) and rookie teen sensation L Devendro Singh in qualifying for the London Olympics by advancing to the World Championships' quarter-finals with contrasting wins in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
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.
Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) inched closer to Olympic qualification but the London dream ended for Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Suranjoy Singh (52kg) who lost in the second round of the Asian Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Vikas Krishan, one of the three Indian boxers to qualify for the Rio Olympics, is confident of winning a bronze medal at the upcoming Games, which could be his last.
Kishen Narsi, chairman of the AIBA's ad-hoc committee for India, says would be happy to guide Vijender Singh in the best possible manner in his bid to make it to Rio.
Former Sports Minister Ajay Maken termed AIBA's decision to suspend Indian woman boxer L Sarita Devi for refusing to accept bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony as "unfortunate" and asked the Centre to take up the matter at the highest international level.
Thanks to their decent showings in recent years, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president Abhay Singh Chautala has pinned his hopes on the pugilists to bring laurels to the country in the upcoming London Olympics.
Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.
Arjuna award-winning Indian boxer Akhil Kumar has suggested setting up sports medicine centres all over the country to check incidents of doping as he feels athletes often end up using banned drugs due to ignorance.
However, the Indian did not report for weigh-in on Friday morning.
Four Indian boxers were on Saturday crowned champions in the AIBA Women's Youth and Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey with convincing victories against their opponents in the finals of their respective weight categories.
Continuing the stupendous show of Indian boxers, Vijender Kumar stormed into the quarterfinals of 75kg middleweight event of the Beijing Olympics after overwhelming Angkhan Chomphuphuang of Thailand 13-3 in a lop-sided pre-quarterfinal bout on Saturday night.
Indian boxer M C Mary Kom (48kg) continued her march towards a fifth consecutive World Championship title by advancing to the quarter-finals with a thumping win over Australian Jenny Smith Bridgetown on Sunday.
'I don't really care for awards for myself but I would be grateful if Anil Dhankar, my formative coach is considered for the Dronacharya'
Indian boxer Shiva Thapa stunned former Olympic silver-medallist Worapoj Petchkoom 16-10 to enter the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana (Kazakhstan) and is now just one win away from booking a berth for the London Games.
The government is unhappy with the wrestlers' behaviour and will not reconstitute the oversight committee formed to probe the sexual harassment charges against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Reigning Youth National Champion Surender Singh, on Saturday assured himself at least a bronze medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Mann by advancing into the semi-finals of the 75kg category.
Shiva Thapa (56kg) was the lone Indian boxer to make the final after Olympic-bound Vikas Krishan (69kg) settled for a bronze medal following his loss in the semi-final of the 43rd men's and women's Grand Prix in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic.
