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.
'Vinesh you are a gold medalist of courage and morality.'
The referee, after one minute and nine seconds in the fifth round, declared the Russian winner as the eight-round game ended in a knockout.
Sakshi had prevailed 3-2 in the regulation bout but the decision was challenged by the Kazakh team and eventually overturned; Mary Kom marches into final.
Vijender Kumar was awarded his middleweight (75 kg) boxing bronze medal on Saturday.
Indian boxer Vijender Kumar settled for a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics after being out-punched by Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux in the semi-finals of the 75 kg category in Beijing on Friday. The 22-year-old was simply out-thought by his Cuban rival who negated the height and reach advantage of Vijender by fighting from a long range to score an 8-5 win.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
The continuing administrative logjam worsened into a full-fledged factional tug-of-war while Indian boxing's poster boy, Vijender Singh, found himself at the center of a devastating drug scandal in what was a thoroughly tumultuous year for the country's pugilists.
The 25-year-old boxer from Telangana thrashed Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas without breaking a sweat in the 52kg final with the judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in Nikhat's favour.
Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (52kg) advanced to the final along with the young Ankush Dahiya (60kg) on another mixed day for Indian boxers at the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia on Saturday.
The selection of the Indian team for the World Boxing Championships has run into a controversy with three pugilists, including Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar, threatening to take the panel to court even as Olympian Akhil Kumar vowed to sue one of them for dragging his name into the furore.
Just one win away from winning an Olympic medal after a comprehensive victory over his opponent in his pre-quarterfinal bout, Indian boxer Vikas Krishan says he wants nothing less than a gold in the Rio Games.
The Indian women boxing team won two silver and three bronze medals at the Ahmet Comert Cup Boxing Tournament.
Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) notched up facile wins to enter the second round of the International Boxing Association's World Olympic Qualification tournament in Baku.
Tennis duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will have added responsibility to return with an Olympic medal from Beijing, especially after the Indian Olympic Association accommodated extra support staff for them, a favour that eluded boxer Akhil Kumar.
'It is gruelling but I am enjoying the grind. My body hasn't felt better'
Bhagwan has been on unpaid leave for the last three years to train Nitu, a two-time World Youth champion.
Shiva, a World Championships bronze-medallist and a two-time medallist at the Asian meet, edged past Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Malabekov in a split verdict to make the last-eight stage, where he will face Chinese Taipei's Chu-En Lai in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
'I dedicate this medal to my country for praying for me, for supporting me. My coaches, federation, my sponsors, they have also helped me a lot.
Indian women boxers made a resounding start at the third Indoor Asian Games with L Sarita Devi (54kg) and N Usha (57kg) advancing to the medal rounds of the event with thumping wins in their respective quarterfinal bouts in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday.
Beijing Olympics quarter-finalist Jitender Kumar and former women's world champion Lekha K C are among the three pugilists recommended by the Indian Boxing Federation for this year's Arjuna awards.
Jeswin Aldrin, who had already qualified for the championships, however missed the cut.
Hussamudin, who was competing in his debut World Championships, was scheduled to face Cuba's Saidel Horta in the last four clash.
'Action for the sake of action never really works, then it's an item number.' 'Action works when the emotional drama and arc of the story moves forward with the action.'
Ace Indian boxer Shiva Thapa began his Commonwealth Games campaign on a rousing note by defeating Pakistan's Suleman Baloch in the first round of the 63.5kg category, in Birmingham, on Friday.
India's Manoj Kumar bowed out of the Olympic Games in controversial manner after he went down to Great Britain's George Stalker in men's light welterweight (64) kg category.
Indian pugilist Manoj Kumar made it to the last 16 in the men's Light-welter (64kg) division at the London Games, beating Serdar Hudayberdiyev (Turkmenistan) late on Tuesday night. The Haryana boxer won 13-7. He will meet world No 1 and third seed Tom Stalker of Great Britain next.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Tokyo Olympian and 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Chaudhary will also be representing the country for the second time and would be keen to add another major medal to his name.
Borgohain (69kg) signed off with a bronze medal in the Olympic Games after a comprehensive 0-5 loss to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli.
Inspired by Mike Tyson and Mohammad Ali, eight Indian junior boxers made quite an impression in their maiden international assignment, clinching a couple of gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the 25th Ahmed Comert Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
Several athletes, including the hockey men's and women's teams of India, took part in the flag-hoisting ceremony at the CWG Village on Thursday.
The IABF disciplinary committee found the three who tested positive at the National Games "prima facie guilty".
A look at the few bright spots, the many worries, and moments that made for a distinctly indelible 2020.
Having modelled the aggressive style of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson to claim an Olympic berth, Indian boxer Devendro Singh knows curbing those attacking instincts is the only way to achieve his dream of a medal at the London Games.
In women's events, the semi-finalists in the 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, and 60kg as well as the finalists in the 66kg and 75kg will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The Indian franchise in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) is struggling to rope in pugilists employed with the Indian Army as the department is refusing to give them permission to compete in the professional-style event.
As boxer Nikhat Zareen prepares to head to her first World Championships in the 51 kg category, she feels she has plenty in her armoury to go the distance.
Manish defeated Denmark's Nikolai Terteryan in a split decision.
