Indian boxer Amit Panghal in 52kg category qualified for his maiden Olympic Games, while Manish Kaushik in 63kg category remained in race for a Tokyo ticket despite losing his quarterfinal bout in the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers at Amman in Jordan today.
World silver-medallist Panghal edged out Carlo Paalam of Philippines in a 4-1 split quarterfinal verdict, while world bronze-winner Kaushik lost 2-3 to third seed Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia after another intense battle.
Kaushik also remains in hunt for an Olympic berth if he can win the box-off between losing quarter finalists as the top six boxers will claim Tokyo tickets in the 63kg category.
Next up for Panghal is China’s Jianguan Hu, who stunned world bronze-medallist and fourth seed Kazakh Saken Bibossinov 5-0.
However, former junior world champion Sakshi Chaudhary in 57kg category failed to secure an Olympic berth after going down to Korea’s Im Aeji in the quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old Chaudhary lost 0-5 to Im. Only the semifinalists are entitled to an Olympic berth in the women’s 57kg category of the ongoing event. Sakshi’s next shot at Tokyo qualification would be the world qualifiers in May, provided she is selected for it.