Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Commonwealth Games gold medalist Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Asian Championships winner Pooja Rani (75kg) became the first two Indian boxers to seal their places at the Tokyo Olympics as they moved in to the semi-finals of the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan today.
The only disappointment for India in the first session of the first quarter-final day was the tight 2-3 loss suffered by Sachin Kumar in 81kg against the experienced Daxaing Chen of China. His Olympic dreams are still not over yet as he will get yet another chance with a box-off opportunity.
Krishan had to dig deep and show his resolve in a tough bout against the third seed and Asian Championships silver medallist Sewonrets Okazawa of Japan, whom he eventually beat 5-0. The fourth-seeded Pooja Rani, meanwhile, had it easy as she ran away to a commanding 5-0 win over Thailand’s Pornnipa Chutee,
International Women’s Day fittingly started with a powerful performance from Pooja Rani, who became the first Indian boxer to seal an Olympic berth for India at the 2020 Games. Riding on a mix of left cross and right jabs, Rani refused to relent and thoroughly outpunched her opponent to ensure that she appears at the mega quadrennial Games for the very first time.
“I had never played against my opponent before nor did I ever watch any of her bouts. I was a bit scared before the bout. My coaches really helped me a lot by chalking out a strategy and that instilled confidence in me. I am very happy to have executed it perfectly and get the all-important Tokyo Olympic berth for India,” said an elated Pooja Rani after her win.
Rani has a tough task at hand next as she faces the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China, who is also the top seed in women’s 75kg.