For most part, Indian boxing had lots to celebrate and it started with the season-opening Strandja Memorial, one of Europe's oldest and most competitive tournaments.
World championship trials would be held from March 7 to 9, followed by the Asiad trials from March 10 to 13.
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.
A former world champion, Sindhu is one of the favourites to win the women's singles gold medal in Birmingham, having won the silver and bronze in the last two editions at Gold Coast and Glasgow.
A look at India's schedule at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, July 31, 2021.
Mary Kom fought back in the final three minutes but that was not enough to get the judges' nod.
'Watch our Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics,' Virat Kohli said in a video
In hockey, the women's team continued its inspiring run with a silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Amit Panghal (52kg) and Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) remained on course for their second successive international gold medals this year and India looked good to notch up its best ever performance in the Asian Boxing Championships.
India had delivered its best ever Asian Championship performance in the 2019 edition in Thailand, claiming 13 medals, including two gold, four silver and seven bronze.
MC Mary Kom and the seasoned L Sarita Devi spearheaded India's gold rush at the second India Open boxing tournament, which concluded on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded India's athletes for their spectacular showing at the Tokyo Olympics, saying their tremendous show has inspired the youth of the country.
Satish Kumar (+91kg) put up a gutsy performance against reigning World champion Bakhodir Jalolov but it was not enough to upstage the rampaging Uzbek and the Indian boxer made a quarter-final exit from the Olympic Games on Sunday.
Slipping out of the usual top-five was seen as a real possibility in absence of shooting but phenomenal success in athletics and lawn bowls propelled India to a commendable fourth place finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Deepak clinched one of the most memorable wins of his career with a 4-1 win over more fancied Zoirov
The development was confirmed by a source close to the team, which is training at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
'The judges won't be giving me points for my looks or height.' 'All I know is my punches are important and I just go about throwing them at my opponent.'
Aiming to secure berths in the world championship squad, close to 400 boxers, including the likes of five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa and former world bronze-winner Gaurav Bidhuri, will be competing in the National Men's Championships starting in Bellary on Wednesday.
The pugilists were due to start training later this month or early in August after the Boxing Federation of India got the SAI nod to conduct the national camp amid the pandemic.
A summary of Indian athletes' performance on Day 7 of the Games.
Here's a look at Indian athletes' performance on Monday, Day 4 of the Games.
India's top-five finish not a given this time
Rediff.com introduces you to the athletes who have brought India glory in Birmingham.
India's nine Olympic-bound boxers will travel abroad for a three-week training stint after getting a few days' break following a record-shattering medal haul by the country's pugilists at the recently-concluded Asian Championships in Dubai.
A livid Mary Kom asked her vanquished opponent Nikhat Zareen to prove herself in the ring instead of making irritating comments.
Asian Games bronze-winner Satish Kumar (+91kg) kicked off his campaign with an impressive 5-0 win over Moldova's Zavantin Alexel to make the last-four stage and be assured of at least a bronze.
Debutant Akash Kumar (54kg) secured India's first medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Belgrade on Tuesday after advancing to the semi-finals with a superb win over former Olympic silver-medallist Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela.
They showed big hearts. They were unfazed by the stature of their rivals and that's what is very important. You respect your rival but don't get intimidated by his CV, says India's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva.
Indian athletes' performance on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
The opening ceremony has been created by British screenwriter Steven Knight, who had produced the famous crime drama 'Peaky Blinders'.
PTI introduces the team, who is aiming for medals when India's campaign at the Tokyo Games commences on July 24.
The team reached Dubai on Saturday after being held up for over two hours in the flight, of which close to one hour was mid air
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
Debutant boxer Amit Panghal (49kg) continued his sensational run to make the final with a hard-fought win but an injured Vikas Krishan (75kg) had to settle for bronze after being declared medically unfit for his semifinal at the 18th Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Friday.
Nieva said boxers in all the five Olympic categories for women will be picked after selection bouts over two days.
Athletes and officials from eight disciplines of archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting landed in Tokyo
Mary Kom, who is an Asian Games winner and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will start the tournament as favourite in the women's category.
Indian athletes, including the boxers and shooters, hit the ground running as they started their pre-Olympic training, hoping to live up to massive expectations in the pandemic-hit Games in Tokyo.
India's boxers are headed in the right direction and will do something big at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, reckons High Performance Director Santiago Nieva.
'No matter when the Olympics are -- they can be after four months or after one year and four months -- I will be ready.'
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