India were assured of an unprecedented two medals at the AIBA Men's World Boxing Championships after Amit Panghal (52kg) and Manish Kaushik (63kg) entered the semi-finals with impressive victories.
Indian wrestlers have not missed a medal since the 2008 Beijing Games and the onus is now on Vinesh Phogat & Co to continue the trend.
Women's national coach Virender Dahiya and Manjeet Rani met the feisty wrestler, who had caused a flutter at the wrestling arena by beating world number one and defending champion Yui Susaki
He had already scripted history but the Indian boxing ace said he wasn't quite done as he aimed for the gold in the World Championship
India's Sachin Siwach (57kg), Sanjeet Kumar (92kg), Amit Panghal (51kg) and Jaismine (women's 57kg) took another step towards Paris Olympic qualification as they registered convincing victories over their respective opponents to advance in the Boxing World Qualifiers in Bangkok on Thursday.
Panghal defended her 53kg crown at the U20 World Championships in Amman, Jordan.
In a tough final bout, the 22-year-old Indian boxer didn't get bogged down and kept landing his punches even as the Uzbek tried to overpower him.
Manu Bhaker and partner Sarabjot Singh will compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal play-off match on Tuesday.
'I don't really care for awards for myself but I would be grateful if Anil Dhankar, my formative coach is considered for the Dronacharya'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Five Indian boxers, aiming for glory at the upcoming Paris Olympics, will embark on a month-long training camp in Germany.
World Championship medallist Amit Panghal and Sachin Siwach struck gold at the 75th Strandja Memorial tournament.
India will send 117 athletes to the Paris Olympics, starting July 26 in the French capital. This will be India's second-biggest contingent at an Olympic Games after 121 athletes went to Tokyo in 2021. A total of 47 female and 70 male athletes will be part of the Indian contingent at the Games.
The reigning world champion had won her Tokyo bronze in the 69kg category.
The Wrestling Federation of India on Tuesday decided to exempt all six Olympic quota winners from selection trials.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
India will go unrepresented in five categories at the upcoming Zagreb Open in Croatia as Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal and three others didn't give consent for their selection to the ad-hoc panel that announced a 13-member team on Tuesday.
Antim Panghal along with several other wrestlers were out on the streets to protest against IOA ad-hoc panel's "unfair" decision to exempt Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat from the Asian Games trials.
The presence of the two women athletes in the contingent, marks the maiden participation of female service athletes at the Olympics.
Antim Panghal on Friday created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win back-to-back U20 world titles
Reigning Under-20 World Champion Antim Panghal on Wednesday questioned the Asian Games trials exemption given to Vinesh Phogat.
Vinesh clears way for Antim Panghal's inclusion
Wrestler Aman Sehrawat added to India's medal tally at the Olympics, winning the bronze in the men's 57kg Freestyle in Paris on Friday. He defeated Puerto Rico's Darian Cruz 13-5.
Narender Berwal (+92kg) also put up a strong fight against Ecuador's Gerlon Gilmar Congo Chala but it wasn't enough to advance to the next round
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg) bowed out of the Olympic Games after a shock defeat to Asian Games gold-medallist Wu Yu of China on Thursday.
Really pained by events in Indian wrestling but hopeful of two medals: Yogeshwar Dutt
Unprecedented success followed India at the junior wrestling World Championships on Thursday with three grapplers, including fast-rising Antim Panghal, storming into the gold medal bouts while Harshita will fight for bronze.
Trying to give the best support to Indian contingent but still being criticised: IOA chief PT Usha
Earlier, India's quest for booking a quota in the women's 60kg ended with Ankushita Boro 2-3 defeat against Agnes Alexiusson of Sweden in the quarter-finals.
Around 150 people, including family members of the wrestlers, are seeking a meeting with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha and ad-hoc panel chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
However, Arundhati Choudhary bowed out in the opening round of the women's 66kg event.
The ad-hoc committee decided to allow Vinesh to compete in two categories: Bhupender Singh Bajwa
A few Indian stars will have to go through the disappointment of watching all the action from afar.
The weight category sports at the Olympics are wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, judo and weightlifting. Most of these are combat sports and weight categories are designed to match athletes with competitors of similar size.
As per the Ministry sources, a special request was made by the BCCI to the sports ministry to include Shami's name as he didn't originally feature in the list of the country's second-highest sporting honour.
'The girls will do well, I hope we get one or two medals. It could be a silver or may be even a gold.'
Six medals from a 117-strong contingent is not ideal but India had its moments of joy, hope, frustration, and heartache.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
Vinesh had failed to win a medal in her two previous Olympics appearances.
'A player cannot declare herself unfit or sick. This has to be certified by the tournament doctor.'
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