Manoj, Sumit inch closer to Oly berth

While Manoj got the better of Bulgaria’s Ismetov Ayrin Smetov 2-1, Sumit stormed past Sandagsuren Erdenebayar of Mongolia 3-0. 

Manoj was the first to take the ring and he rallied to beat Ismetov in his pre-quarterfinal contest. The Indian fought back after losing the opening round against an aggressive rival.

The former Asian bronze-medallist will now face Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shavkatdzhon, who defeated Bahrain’s Williams Rashield in his last-16 stage contest.

Sumit, on the other hand, hardly broke a sweat to out-punch Erdenebayar in his prequarterfinal bout. Sumit will next be up against Russia’s Petr Khamukov, who got the better of Slovakia’s Denis Lazer.

India have not sent any entry in the 56kg category as Shiva Thapa has already qualified for the Rio Games during the Asian qualifiers in March.