Asian Olympic Qualifiers: Boxers Gaurav Solanki, Ashish Kumar enter pre-quarterfinals

India got off to a flying start at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers for boxing with Commonwealth Games gold medalists Gaurav Solanki (57 kg) and Ashish Kumar (75 kg) advanced into the final-16 of the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordon on Tuesday by winning their opening bouts.

Solanki, who won the 52kg category in the Commonwealth Games, defeated Akylbek Esenbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan 5–0 in a one-sided match, while Asian Championship silver medalist Ashish edged out Taiwan’s Chia-Wei Kan. The Indian boxer recorded a convincing 5–0 win.

Solanki dominated from the beginning against the two-time national champion of Kyrgyzstan and also benefited from the weak defense technique of the opposing boxer. He scored points through his precise punches. In the pre-quarterfinals, Solanki will face top seed Gaurav Solanki of Uzbekistan who got a first-round bye. Mirzakhalilov is the defending world champion and won gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games and the Asian Championships.

Ashish will take on fourth-seeded Kyrgyzstan’s Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the pre-quarterfinals. Ashish enjoys an upper hand over Kyrgyzstan’s pugilist as he had defeated the boxer in the quarter-finals of the Asian Championship last year.

Ashish, who idolizes Vasyl Lomachenko and Floyd Mayweather said after his victory,

“I feel my game is at a good level, and I know when to play attack, defence or long-range. It’s all going well and now I want to achieve a 2020 Olympics medal.”

The boxers who reached the semi-finals of the tournament will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. World silver medalist Amit Panghal (52 kg) has been given the top seed in the men’s category while MC Mary Kom (51 kg) has got the second rank in the women’s category.

Other Indians include two-time World Championship bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg), Asian Championship gold medalist Pooja Rani (75 kg) and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Satish Kumar (over 91 kg) in the small size of the draw. All these pugilists are just one win away from qualifying for the Summer extravaganza of sports scheduled to be held in Tokyo.