M C Mary Kom continued her chase for a historic fifth successive World Championship gold by becoming the only Indian boxer to enter the final of the event with a thumping win in the last-four stage in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The transition from amateur to professional hasn't been easy, but star Indian boxer Vijender Singh cannot wait for the beginning of a new life when he makes his pro debut on October 10 against Englishman Sonny Whiting.
'I have boxed at the amateur level for 15, 16 years and won every medal possible at the world level. I represented India in three Olympics, for 12 years, and that is not an easy thing. I am hoping to replicate my success in pro boxing.'
In other India-related news, Manish Kaurav (KL3 men 200m) and Manjeet Singh (VL2 men 200m) made it to the finals of their respective events for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Four-time world champion M C Mary Kom notched up her third Asian title while L Sarita Devi clinched her fourth, as Indian boxers finished fourth in the event with two gold, a silver and five bronze medals in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.
Akhil Kumar's wound may never heal but fellow pugilists Vijender and Jitender believe they can at least ease it it by winning their quarterfinal bouts on Wednesday.
Suranjoy Singh clinched the lone gold as Indian boxers rounded off their campaign at the European Grand Prix event in Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic with four medals. Suranjoy bagged the flyweight gold after beating Armenia's H Danielyan 4-1 on Saturday night.
A resolute Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the finals with impressive victories but the legendary M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) settled for bronze medals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers, in Amman, on Tuesday. Also ending with bronze medals were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). All the six boxers have already secured their tickets to the Olympic Games by making the semi-finals but Krishan and Kaur will come back with at least silver medals after entering the finals.
Jai Bhagwan was the only among the eight-member Indian team to make it to the medal-winning round.
Apart from Kohli, many cricketers and other sports personalities have also extended their congratulatory messages to PM Modi, who is now set to start his second term as PM.
Vijender Singh knocked out Tanzanian Francis Cheka inside 3 rounds to defended his WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title on Saturday.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel, on Saturday, met former Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh to discuss the way forward for Indian boxing, which has been severely hampered by administrative wrangling in the past four years.
On August 22, 2008, Vijender Singh did just that when he lost his semi-final bout at the Beijing Olympics. But the bronze medal he settled for was the first any Indian boxer won at the world's biggest sporting event. He completes a "life-changing" year since that feat on Saturday, but Vijender says it is just like yesterday for him.
India's boxer Monika handed a shock defeat to the two-time world championships medallist Josie Gabuco of Philippines to enter the women's 48kg semi-finals at the 2022 Thailand Open International Boxing tournament in Phuket on Monday.
Vikash Malik (60kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) joined Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) in the quarter-finals, on Tuesday, making it one better than the previous best India achieved in the 2011 edition in Azerbaijan.
Kavinder Singh Bisht laments his state's refusal to acknowledge his achievements because he represents the Services Sports Control Board.
The 21-year-old from Haryana then landed a flurry of punches in the third round as the last three minutes were closely-fought between the two. But Nitu defended tightly and looked in control to emerge victorious.
Through their triumphs and struggles, these athletes have not only rewritten the narrative of women in sports but have also ignited a flame of empowerment and inspiration, asserts Laxmi Negi.
A 42-member support staff will accompany the contingent for the August 8-24 Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain lived up to expectations as they secured medals for India with quarter-final wins, alongside two other home boxers at the Women's Boxing World Championships.
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.
A few Indian stars will have to go through the disappointment of watching all the action from afar.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar capped a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening injury lay-off to become the second Indian boxer to qualify for Beijing Olympics through the Asian qualifying tournament in Bangkok, on Friday. The 27-year-old bantamweight pugilist out-pointed his People's Republic of Korea opponent Ryom Chol Jin in a semi-final bout.
This was Sonia's first major international event having risen to senior level by winning a gold in the National Championships in 2016. Last year, she won a gold in the Serbia Cup. She won a bronze in the Ahmet Comert Boxing Tournament this year.
Lovlina Borgohain's personal coach Sandhya Gurung on Tuesday received her accreditation for the Commonwealth Games, a day after the Olympic bronze medallist claimed her preparation for the event was getting affected due to "continuous harassment" of her coaches.
Beaten Indian boxer Vijender Kumar has promised to return at the next Olympics in 2012 and win a gold for India. Vijender had to settle for a bronze medal at the Beijing Games after being out-punched by Cuba's Emilio Correa Bayeaux in the semi-finals of the 75 kg categoryon Friday.
Ex-world champ Cheka 'ready to put Vijender in his place'
India's campaign in the Asian Games gymnastics ended, on Friday, without a medal after Dipa Karmakar finished fifth in the women's balance beam event final in Jakarta.
Nikhat registered a dominating 5-0 victory, thrashing Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas without breaking a sweat in the 52kg final with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian's favour.
London Games bronze medallist boxer M C Mary Kom on Tuesday described her trials for Rio Olympics as "unfortunate" and said things probably would have been in her favour had there been more competitions for women. "I only got two chances to qualify. Male boxers get five to six chances, but even then many of them did not qualify," she said expressing hope that things would change for better after the upcoming boxing federation elections.
It was gold rush for India at the Asian Junior Boxing Championships in Dubai on Sunday with four pugilists from the country winning gold medals.
The Indian boxer is trying to get his hands on a million rupees the government promised him for winning Commonwealth gold in 2006.
A sixth world title added to her cabinet, ace Indian boxer MC Mary Kom, on Wednesday, said she is now aiming for a gold in the Olympics.
The Indian pugilists won the flyweight and light-heavyweight final bouts.\n\n\n\n
The IBA Women's World Boxing Championships is scheduled to be held from May 6 to 21 in Istanbul, Turkey while the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games will begin on July 28 and September 10 respectively.
With a month to go for the Tokyo Olympics Vijender Singh takes a trip down memory lane to relive one of the most iconic moments in Indian sport... India's first Olympic medal in boxing.
'Sarita is the most abused and unsupported Indian boxer of all time.'
Promising pugilist Aswathimol Chenthittail joined M C Merykom, L Sarita Devi, Kalpana Choudhary and Jyotsana in the semis of the women's World Boxing Championships.
The ministry's decision came after the country's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, resumed their sit-in protest in New Delhi on Sunday and demanded the public disclosure of the findings of the oversight panel that investigated the sexual harassment allegations against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
