A look at the country's athletes' showing at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, July 30.
In a conference call with these boxers on Sunday, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh took stock of their preparations amid a national lockdown till April 14 to fight the pandemic.
It was a stunning loss for Panghal, who had won a gold medal in the Cologne World Cup a couple of months back. The 23-year-old ended up paying for his rather weak defence in the bout against Escobar.
Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar's Simranjit Singh Mann on Sunday won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat after defeating his nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party's Gurmail Singh, by a margin of 5,822 votes.
In a bout which had very few clear punches, Mary Kom prevailed 9-1 to make the squad
Thirteen of the country's boxers -- seven men and six women -- are assured of at least bronze medals after advancing to the last-four stage of the marquee continental championship.
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.
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year's winners to an unparalleled 12.
All of the boxers have been training at their respective homes ever since the nationals camps came to a halt in mid-March owing to the virus outbreak
The Indian women's boxing team won one gold, three silver and six bronze medals at the Asian Championship in Dubai, ensuring that all 10 weight categories featured an Indian medallist.
Five-time world champion Mary Kom, returning to the ring after recovering from some niggles that kept her out of the Asian Games, prevailed 5-0 against Kazakhstan's Aigerim Kassanayeva to pick up India's lone senior category gold at the event on Saturday.
'I need this desperately to assess myself before the Olympics'
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.
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.
MC Mary Kom advanced to the final but Shiva Thapa settled for a bronze medal after an upset semi-final loss in the India Open boxing tournament for men and women in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Sarita, Nikhat also enter semis
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.
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.
Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year
Jeswin Aldrin, who had already qualified for the championships, however missed the cut.
A judging controversy couldn't stop the Indian juggernaut from rolling with as many as eight pugilists reaching the quarterfinals in the ongoing AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships on Monday.
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.
Sanjeet Kumar won a gold medal in the 91 kg weight category at the Asian Boxing Championships.
Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) qualified for Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the semi-final with a comfortable win over Philippines' Irish Magno, at the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers in Amman, on Monday. World number one Amit Panghal (52kg) qualified for his maiden Olympic Games, while Manish Kaushik (63kg) remained in the hunt for a Tokyo ticket despite losing his quarter-final bout.
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
The 35-year-old mother-of-three defeated China's Wu Yu 5-0 in the light flyweight (48kg) category quarterfinals to enter the last-four stage and be assured of at least a bronze.
The 36-year-old Manipuri has been an ambassador of the sport not just in India but also the world over
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom will aim for a historic sixth gold at the AIBA Women' World Championships, the build up of which has been marred by a row over lone Kosovan boxer's participation and poor quality air in the national capital.
Mary Kom, who claimed an unprecedented sixth gold by winning the 48kg summit bout in the Women's World Championships, in New Delhi, said she became a smarter fighter in the later part of her career.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict on death row in connection with the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, has said that he did not want anyone to defend him.
MC Mary Kom inched one step closer towards her sixth gold medal at the Women's World Boxing Championships after beating Kim Hyang Mi of North Korea in the semi-finals of the 48kg.
PTI introduces the team, who is aiming for medals when India's campaign at the Tokyo Games commences on July 24.
Counting began at 8 am under multi-tier security cover. At first, postal ballots will be counted and then EVMs opened.
Counting of votes for the bypolls in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand will be taken up on Sunday.
Check out the complete schedule of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
'Our boxers are mature and strong enough to withstand these kinds of shocks.'
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