When is Vikas Krishan’s final bout at Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers?

Olympic berths sealed, India’s Vikas Krishan and Simranjit Kaur will look to end the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers on a high when they take to the ring for the final on Wednesday.

The Indian pugilists have been on a roll at the Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman, Jordan, with as many as eight Indian boxers qualified for the 2020 Olympics. And leading the charge have been Vikas Krishan, MC Mary Kom and Amit Panghal.

Having turned pro a few years back, only to return to the amateur circuit with the sole purpose of winning an Olympic medal, Vikas Krishan might have taken his first step towards Tokyo 2020. But the 28-old-year knows that the job is still half done. 

Quick to get into his groove at the Amman event, Vikas Krishan has been in his dominant best in the welterweight (63kg-69kg) division so far. Though he faced some trouble in the semifinal, eventually prevailing on a 3-2 split verdict, the Indian boxer showed what he’s capable of against the second-seed Ablaikhan Zhussupov of Kazakhstan.

He will be expected to be on his toes once again when he lines up against local favourite Eashash Zeyad Eishaih Hussein. The Jordanian saw off the top-seed and the Asian champion Baturov Bobo-Usmon of Uzbekistan in his last-four tie and will be determined to settle for nothing less than the gold here.

Just like her compatriot, Simranjit Kaur too has been in fine fettle at the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers. However, unlike Vikas Krishan, the 2018 World Championships bronze medallist has had a reputation of being a tank in the boxing circuit. 

And at the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers, it was no different. 

While Simranjit Kaur was dominant in most of her bouts in the lightweight (57kg-60kg) division, in the crucial match-ups, like the quarter-final and the semi-final, the Indian chose to soak up the pressure in the opening round before unleashing herself on to her opponent as the bout progressed.

Up against the two-time Asian champion Oh Yeonji of South Korea, Simranjit Kaur will hope to continue her fine run and return home with the yellow metal.

While Vikas Krishan and Simranjit Kaur will fight it out for the champion’s title on Wednesday, Sachin Kumar will take to the ring for his final box-off in the light heavyweight (75kg-81kg) category.

Up against Shabbos Negmatulloev of Tajikistan, the Indian boxer will have to bring his best to the ring if he has to have a chance of making the Olympic cut in Amman.

Meanwhile, Manish Kaushik will also have a chance of sealing his place at Tokyo 2020 when he takes on Australia’s Garside Harrison in the lightweight (57-63kg) division box-off.

Indian boxing contingent in Amman

Men’s squad: Amit Panghal (52kg), Gaurav Solanki (57kg), Manish Kaushik (63 kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sachin Kumar (81kg), Naman Tanwar (91kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg).

Women’s squad: Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg).

Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers fixtures and schedule

The final session of the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers will be held on March 11 with the Indian boxers taking to the ring as per the following schedule:

Morning session (2:30 PM IST onwards):

Sachin Kumar vs Negmatulloev Shabbos (TJK)

Manish Kaushik vs Garside Harrison (AUS)

Evening session (8:30 PM IST onwards):

Krishan Vikas vs Eashash Zeyad Eishaih Hussein (JOR)

Simranjit Kaur vs Oh Yeon Ji (KOR)

When and where to watch the Asian boxing Olympic qualifiers

You can follow all the action from the Asia/Oceania Boxing Qualification live exclusively on the Olympic Channel as well as our Facebook page. The morning session will get underway at 2:30 PM IST while the evening session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 PM IST.

You can also follow the daily live blog in both English and Hindi on the Olympic Channel.