Pooja Rani (75kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) on Sunday became the first set of Indian boxers to qualify for this year's Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the semifinals of the continental qualifiers in Amman, Jordan. Soon after, Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) too qualified for the Olympics after reaching the semifinals in the evening session.
While fourth-seeded Rani beat Thailand's Pornnipa Chutee 5-0, Krishan had a tougher bout against third-seeded Japanese Sewonrets Okazawa before prevailing in a unanimous verdict against the Asian silver-medallist. This will be Rani's Olympic debut, while Krishan will be making his third successive Olympic appearance, making him the second Indian boxer after Vijender Singh to appear in three Olympics.
"I had never fought against this girl before today and honestly, I was a bit scared. I had told my coaches about it before the bout. They instilled confidence in me and I could pull off a one-sided result. I am happy," said the 29-year-old Rani, who fought career-threatening shoulder and hand injuries before her gold at last year's Asian Championships.
Rani will next face the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China. Awaiting Krishan in the semifinals is second-seeded Ablaikhan Zhussupov of Kazakhstan, a two-time world bronze-medallist and a former Asian silver-winner.
Krishan is making a comeback in the amateur fold after going professional post the 2016 Rio Olympics. He had an unbeaten run in the circuit before a back injury changed his plans. Upon his return to the amateur boxing last year, he won a gold medal at the South Asian Games in December.
Meanwhile, first-timer Sachin Kumar (81kg) went down in a split decision to China's national champion Daxaing Chen in his quarterfinal bout. He, however, remains in the hunt for an Olympic berth -- he now needs to win the two-bout box-off between the losing quarterfinalists. The top five boxers in his category will get a spot in the Tokyo Games.
In the evening session, two-time world bronze-winner and second seed Borgohain eased past Uzbekistan's Maftunakhon Melieva to enter the semifinals. Kumar also went through with a 5-0 win over Indonesia's Maikhel Roberrd Muskita, the bout being tougher than what the final scoreline might suggest.
"I managed to execute whatever I had planned. I wanted to fight from a distance and counter-attack, which I could do. Just qualifying is not enough, I want to now win a gold medal," a jubilant Borgohain, who hails from Assam, said after her bout.
Also through to the last-four stage was Asian silver-medallist Ashish with a 5-0 win over Indonesia's Maikhel Roberrd Muskita. Commonwealth Games silver-medallist and fourth seed Satish Kumar then put it past Mongolia's Daivii Otgonbayar 5-0 in the final Indian bout of the day. Both Indians will next face the top seeds in their respective semifinal bouts -- Ashish will meet reigning world silver-medallist Eumir Marcial of the Philippines, while Satish will clash with reigning world champion Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan.