Asian Boxing Championships 2021: Amit Panghal, Mary Kom lead India charge in Dubai – watch live
Watch Asian Boxing Championships 2021 live as 19 Indian boxers go toe to toe with some of the best ahead of Tokyo Games.
Seven Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian boxers, including MC Mary Kom and Amit Panghal, will be in action at the Asian Boxing Championships 2021 in Dubai from May 24.
The Asian Boxing Championships were earlier scheduled to be held in New Delhi but was shifted to Dubai because of the COVID-19 situation in India.
India, however, have sent a sizable contingent of 19 boxers for the continental tournament which is missing some top nations like China, Japan and Korea.
The Indian list includes seven pugilists - Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Amit Panghal (52kg) in the men’s and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), MC Mary Kom (51kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) in the women’s category – who have already qualified for Tokyo.
Manish Kaushik (63kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) are the only two Tokyo-bound Indian boxers who are not in Dubai since both are recovering from COVID-19. Olympian Shiva Thapa and Narender will be filling in for them, respectively.
The Asian championships will be one of the biggest boxing tournaments scheduled leading up to the Tokyo Olympics this July and will be crucial for the Tokyo-bound boxers to fine-tune their preparations before the big event in Japan.
Another boxer who will be missing out is 23-year-old Vinod Tanwar. The 2019 Commonwealth championships gold medallist was initially chosen to represent India in the men’s 49kg division but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID.
It was too late for the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to name a replacement, meaning India will have no representation in the men’s 49kg category this year.
At the 2019 edition – the last Asian championships – held in Bangkok, Thailand, India won 13 medals. Two of them were gold, won by Amit Panghal and Pooja Rani.
Mary Kom, a five-time Asian champion, had opted to give the 2019 meet a miss. Her stand-in Nikhat Zareen had claimed a bronze in Bangkok.
Indian squad for the Asian Boxing Championships 2021
Men: Amit Panghal (52kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (56kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Shiva Thapa (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Narender (+91kg).
Women: Monika (48kg), MC Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi (54kg), Jasmine (57kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg), Lalbuatsaihi (64kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Saweety Boora (81kg) and Anupama (+81kg).
Asian Boxing Championships draws for Indian boxers
Men’s
52kg quarter-finals
Amit Panghal vs Sultan Alnuaimi (UAE)/Enkhmanadakh Kharkhuu (Mongolia)
56kg preliminaries
Mohammad Hussamuddin vs Makhmud Sabyrkhan (Kazakhstan)
60kg quarter-finals
Varinder Singh vs Jere Samuel Dela Cruz (Philippines)/Jeewantha Wimukthi (Sri Lanka)
64kg preliminaries
Shiva Thapa vs Dmitrii Puchinn (Kazakhstan)
69kg quarter-finals
Vikas Krishan vs Moslem Maghsoudi (Iran)
75kg quarter-finals
Ashish Kumar vs Abilkhan Amankul (Kazakhstan)/Said Abass Albahrani (Kuwait)
81kg preliminaries
Sumit Sangwan vs Meysam Gheshlaghi (Iran)
91kg quarter-finals
Sanjeet vs Jasur Qurbonov (Tajikistan)
+91kg quarter-finals
Narender vs Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kazakhstan)
Women’s
48kg semi-finals
Monika vs Alua Balkibekova (Kazakhstan)
51kg semi-finals
Mary Kom vs Sumaiya Qosimova (Tajikistan)/Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg (Mongolia)
54kg quarter-finals
Sakshi vs Ruhafzo Haqazarova (Tajikistan)
57kg quarter-finals
Jasmine vs Yesugen Oyuntsetseg (Mongolia)
60kg quarter-finals
Simranjeet Kaur vs Raykhona Kodirova (Uzbekistan)
64kg semi-finals
Lalbuatsaihi vs Noura Almutairi (Kuwait)
69kg semi-finals
Lovlina Borgohain vs Navbakhor Khamidova (Uzbekistan)
75kg semi-finals
Pooja Rani vs Munkhbat Myagmarjargal (Mongolia)
81kg semi-finals
Saweety vs Fariza Sholtay (Kazakhstan)
+81kg semi-finals
Anupama vs Mokhira Abdullaeva (Uzbekistan)
Asian Boxing Championships 2021 schedule and live India start times
All times are in India Standard Times (IST)
May 24, Monday - preliminaries - 7:30 PM IST
May 25, Tuesday - quarter-finals - 7:30 PM IST
May 26, Wednesday - quarter-finals - 7:30 PM IST
May 27, Thursday - semi-finals - 7:30 PM IST
May 28, Friday - semi-finals - 7:30 PM IST
May 30, Sunday - women’s finals - 7:30 PM IST
May 31, Monday - men’s finals - 7:30 PM IST
Where to watch Asian Boxing Championships 2021 live in India?
Fans can watch the Asian Boxing Championships 2021 on live streaming in India on the official AIBA Youtube channel. Matches start at 7:30 PM IST onwards.