In a major setback to the Indian boxing fraternity months ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to cancel the final boxing Olympic world qualifiers, citing challenges presented by the novel coronavirus.
The world qualifier, which was scheduled to take place in Paris in June, was the final qualifying event for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics following the continental events.
Also Read: Indian Athletes Who Have Qualified For 2021 Tokyo Olympics
The development comes as a major disappointment for the Indian pugilists who were looking to make the final cut to the Indian contingent at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Indian Boxers Who Were In The Fray To Qualify For 2021 Tokyo Olympics
The highest-ranked Indian boxer in the men's 57kg category Kavinder Bisht, Commonwealth Games gold medalist Gaurav Solanki, and world silver medallist Sonia Chahal in the women's 57kg division are among the Indian boxers who will miss out on securing a berth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
How Many Boxers From India Have Qualified For 2021 Tokyo Olympics
The only Asian qualification event held in Jordan in March last year saw a couple of Olympic entries from India. As many as nine Indian boxers have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which made this the country’s biggest-ever boxing contingent at the quadrennial event. At the 2012 London Olympics, a team of eight Indian boxers qualified, with only three making it to the following Olympic year.
Indian Boxers Who Have Qualified For 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Satish Kumar (91kg) among the male boxers and M C Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) among the females have secured their Olympic berths for Tokyo.
What weight divisions were India hopeful of securing berths at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
India was aiming to secure four more berths in the men’s 57kg, 81kg and 91kg categories and one in women.
The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Boxing Task Force has stated that the 53 quota places (32 men and 21 women) planned to be allocated at the final World Olympic Qualifier event will now be allocated equally across the four regions (Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe) and all the weight categories
The Indian boxing federation is still hopeful of securing a berth on the basis of world rankings.