AIBA Olympic Qualifiers | Sumit Sangwan enters last-16

AIBA Olympic Qualifiers | Sumit Sangwan enters last-16

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Indian boxer Sumit Sangwan progressed to the last-16 of the AIBA World Olympic Qualification tournament in Baku on Sunday in the 81kg category. The 23-year-old beat eighth seed Colombia’s Juan Carlos Carrillo, who is a former Youth Olympics silver-medallist, 2-1 in the round of 32 clash.

“Sumit boxed very intelligently. He tried to keep his opponent at long range and struck some brilliant straight punches to his body and face. As I saw it, he dominated in all the three rounds. His opponent was stout and had a powerful swing which Sumit dodged beautifully with his footwork. It was all the more good to watch because Indians generally struggle against southpaw boxers,” National coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu was quoted as saying by the PTI.

The 2012 Olympian, who is coming back to form after recovering from injuries, will face Mongolia's Erdenebayar Sandagsuren in the pre-quarters on Tuesday. However, Satish Kumar faced a heart-breaking exit in the 91+kg category against Ireland's Dean Gardiner. He had to bow out after he suffered a cut above his eye in the first round of the bout. The bout was stopped in the second round due to the seriousness of the injury. Amritpreet Singh had also bowed out in the 91kg category earlier, after losing in the opening round.

Over 400 boxers from more than 100 countries are vying for 39 slots in the final qualifying tournament for amateur boxers. India has not sent any entry in the 56kg category, though, as Shiva Thapa had already qualified for the Rio Olympics through the Asian qualifiers in March.

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