Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers: Amit Panghal given top seed, MC Mary Kom seeded second
Checkout: The Tokyo Olympics 2020 Schedule
What's the story?
World silver medalist and number one ranked Indian boxer Amit Panghal (52kg) has been given the top billing in the men's competition while eight time medalist MC Mary Kom (51kg) has been seeded second in the women's draw of the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers which is set to begin from March 3 in Amman, Jordan.
In case you didn’t know
Thirteen Indian pugilists (eight men and five women) will be competing at the Asian Olympics qualifiers to secure a berth in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020. Panghal is the only Indian boxer to be seeded in the male category whereas Lovlina Borgohain (69 KG) and Pooja Rani (75 KG) have been seeded second and fourth respectively.
Heart of the matter
The Indian boxing contingent arrived in Amman, Jordan on Friday after having a successful training stint in Assisi, Italy. While talking to the PTI, Indian boxing's High Performance Director said that the team is in high spirits after working on some specific areas to ensure that the opponents do not stand a chance.
Indian squads -
Men: Amit Panghal (52kg), Gaurav Solanki (57kg), Manish Kaushik (63 kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sachin Kumar (81kg), Naman Tanwar (91kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg).
Women: MC Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg).
"Everything is fine here. The team is in high spirits and we are looking forward to a strong performance."
"We have worked on some areas to ensure that our opponents do not stand a chance."
What's next?
In the tournament, 63 quota places are up for grabs. A boxer will book their flight to Tokyo on reaching the semifinals stage of the tournament. In some specific competitive weight categories, there could be box-offs between quarterfinalists who lose in order to decide the Olympic berths.
The Indians will heavily rely on Amit Panghal and MC Mary Kom to secure an Olympic berth. While Commonwealth Games silver-medalist Manish Kaushik (63 kg) is considered as another strong contender to qualify.
Also Checkout: The Tokyo Olympics 2020 medal tally
Follow Sportskeeda to get the Olympics 2020 schedule, latest news, updates and more.