The Indian boxer is trying to get his hands on a million rupees the government promised him for winning Commonwealth gold in 2006.
Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and World silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi (51kg) are among four Indian boxers assured of medals after scoring facile victories in the inaugural India Open, for men and women, in Delhi on Monday.
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.
India's comeback-man Akhil Kumar (60kg) pummelled his Nepalese rival Purna Bahadur Lama before notching up a Technical Knockout win to give Indian boxers a good start on Wednesday.
Vijender Singh has pulled out of the 35th National Games starting on Saturday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
India's top boxer Vijender Singh was knocked out after an intense second-round contest on a day of mixed fortunes for India that saw Shiva Thapa and comeback-man Nanao Singh punch their way in to the pre-quarters at the World Boxing Championships in Almaty. Kazakhstan.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
He stopped short of saying retirement but India's long-serving national boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has hinted at stepping down from his position after next month's Olympics, saying that he wants to 'rest' post the Rio campaign.
Three Indians, including World Boxing Council (WBC) Asian title-holder Neeraj Goyat, have registered for the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) Olympic Qualifying tournament for professional boxers scheduled to be held in Venezuela from July 3 to 8.
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.
Haryana government on Saturday said it is considering making it mandatory for a sportsman to compete for at least six years.
M C Mary Kom, who is also a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, said the alarming increase in the number of rapes in the country has left her feeling "hurt and helpless" while star shuttler Saina Nehwal condemned the 'ghastly crimes'.
A bronze medal in his kitty, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa could not add the Olympic quota place to it despite a valiant effort in a hard-fought box-off of the World Championships in Doha on Wednesday.
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh is ready to trade blows with Pakistan-born British professional Amir Khan and accepted his challenge to fight in India, saying it will prove to be a big boost to the sport in the country. Two-time former world champion, Amir, who has been training intensively for his much-anticipated WBC title contest against Mexico's Saul 'Canelo Alvarez want to fight against Vijender soon in India. Commenting on Amir Khan's challenge, Vijender said: "I accept the challenge of Amir Khan and I am sure this fight will be a big boost to boxing in our country. "As we both fight in different weight categories so will have to see whether Amir gains or I have to lose weight. I have started my professional boxing career last year only and have made only 4 appearances in the pro ring.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The chairman of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) ad-hoc committee Kishan Narsi has reiterated in an e-mail communication that Boxing India stands provisionally suspended after the derecognised national body in a notification had scheduled its Annual General Meeting in Guwahati on October 3.
An Olympic quota place pocketed, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) ended his campaign with a silver medal after losing in the final of the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament Qian'an, China on Friday. The 22-year-old Assamese, who is a World Championship bronze-medallist, went down 0-3 to Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in the summit clash. Butdee is the reigning Asian champion. Shiva had booked his ticket to Rio de Janeiro by making the finals yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Kairat Yeraliyev. Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak once again for L Devendro Singh (49kg), who missed a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. The Commonwealth silver-medallist, who lost in the semifinals a day prior, went down in the box-off for the Olympic slot on Friday.
Vijender Singh (75kg) turned in a solid showing despite being down with viral fever to beat Sweden's Hampus Henriksson in his opening bout at the World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.
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.
Jitender Kumar, Akhil Kumar and Vijender Singh are determined not to get overawed by the strong field at the Athens Games.
Jai Bhagwan was the only among the eight-member Indian team to make it to the medal-winning round.
The two Indian pugilists reached the finals in the third Asian qualifying event for the Athens Olympics.
'Aggression is very important.' 'In the new scoring system the judges are more impressed if you land more punches and fight more aggressively.'
After skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan, it's former cricketer Virender Sehwag, who has now jumped into the political bandwagon. The former India opener posted on his official Twitter account, appealing agitating protesters to cease violence immediately and sort out the issues peacefully by staying within the limits of Indian constitution. "I request all my brothers to voice their differences and protest by staying within the limits of our constitution. We are saviors and not violent predators," Sehwag posted on his twitter account," Sehwag wrote on his Twitter handle. "Our army and sportspersons fight for the country's pride. Our (the citizen's) passion should work in the benefit of India and not against it," he added. Sehwag's comments come in the backdrop of a raging debate on freedom of expression after an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Earlier Dhoni had also voiced his opinion by hailing the Indian army, saying that the nation is in a position to debate on freedom of expression because of the men in uniform.
London Olympics bronze-medallist MC Mary Kom led the charge as six Indian boxers stormed into the final with comprehensive wins to remain in hunt for all the 10 medals on offer at the 12th South Asian Games, in Shillong, on Sunday.
Men joined the gold quest through Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) as the team rejoiced its best ever medal haul at the mega-event on Saturday.
Asian Games medallists Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) were among the five Indian boxers who entered the finals, on Friday, while three others settled for bronze medals in what is turning out to be India's best ever performance inside the ring at the Commonwealth Games.
Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective singles matches, while Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa triumphed in the mixed doubles to help India outclass Malaysia in the final and clinch the gold medal in the Mixed Team badminton gold medal match at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Indian boxing's national observer Akhil Kumar sees nothing wrong in leaving out national chief coaches from the Commonwealth Games contingent but what irks him is the higher pay and greater importance given to the foreigners in the support staff.
The Indian suffered a deep gash above his left eye, which forced the referee to stop his 81 kgs bout against Ukraine's Andriy Fedchuck.
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.
She couldn't make the cut through qualifiers but star woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic dream is not quite over yet as India has decided to seek a wildcard entry for her in the Games scheduled from August 5 this year. Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month's World Championships -- the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games. The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan. "She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wildcard for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision," Chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI. Mary Kom, who is called 'Magnificent Mary' by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics. The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wildcard.
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.
Sonia Lather (57kg) stood just one win away from ending India's six-year-old gold medal drought at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship as she advanced to final after outpunching Kazakhstan's Aizhan Khojabekova in the last-four stage in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday. The 24-year-old Sonia, who is a 2012 Asian Championships silver-medallist, defeated Khojabekova 3-0 to set up a clash with Italian Alessia Mesiano, who got the better of Bulgaria's Denitsa Eliseeva by a similar margin. The lone Indian left in the fray, Sonia was quick off the blocks against her rather sloppy rival. Combining right hooks with power-packed jabs, Sonia threw Khojabekova off balance on more than one occasion. Khojabekova was mostly clueless when it came to defending herself and her feeble attempts at attack were blocked or evaded effortlessly by the quick-thinking Haryana girl. In the end, it was hardly a surprise that judges ruled unanimously in Sonia's favour.
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.
The World Championship gold medallist is among nine Indian boxers in the finals of the second Asian women's boxing championships.
The Indian pugilists won the flyweight and light-heavyweight final bouts.\n\n\n\n
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
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