Vikas Krishan Moves Step Closer to Securing Rio Olympics Berth
Vikas Krishan out-boxed and out-witted Georgia's Kvachatadze Zaal 3-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the last-eight of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament where he will take on Korea's Lee Dongyun
Highlights
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Vikas Krishan reached the quarterfinals of the World Olympic Qualifiers
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Vikas is the third Indian boxer to enter the quarterfinals
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Vikas needs to make it to the semis to book a Rio Olympics berth
Former Asian Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) became the third Indian boxer to enter the quarterfinals of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament and is now just one win away from booking a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games this August.
Seeded second in his draw, Vikas out-witted Georgia's Kvachatadze Zaal 3-0 late last night to advance to the last-eight stage where he will take on Korea's Lee Dongyun.
"Vikas dominated all three rounds and did not have to work too hard for this win. The Georgian guy tried his best but Vikas kept his composure and in the end it was easy for him," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told PTI.
Vikas, a former World Championships bronze-medallist, joined Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) in the quarterfinals. All three have to make the semis to book an Olympic berth besides being assured of a medal.
Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg), seeded fourth, is through to the semifinals but has to be in the summit clash of his weight category to clinch a Rio spot.
After a rest day on Wednesday, Vikas, Manoj and Sumit will compete in their respective quarterfinal bouts on Thursday. Devendro, on the other hand, will be seen in action on Friday.
Devendro will face Spain's Samuel Heredia, who stunned top seed Dmytro Zamotaev of Ukraine. Zamotaev is a World Championships and European Championships bronze-medallist.
Manoj, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will face Tajikistan's Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon. Sumit, on the other hand, will be up against Russia's Petr Khamukov.