Commonwealth Games gold medalists Gaurav Solanki (57 kg) and Ashish Kumar (75 kg) advanced to the final round of 16 in the opening round of the Asian Olympic qualifiers on Tuesday. Solanki defeated Akilbek Esenbeck Ulu of Kyrgyzstan 5–0 in a one-sided match while Asian Championship silver medalist Ashish Taiwan's Ka Chia-lying heavy on Wei. The Indian boxer recorded a convincing 5–0 win.
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Solanki dominated from the beginning against the two-time national champion of Kyrgyzstan and he also benefited from the weak defense technique of the opposing boxer. He scored points with the right punch. In the pre-quarterfinals, they will face top seed Mirzizbek Mirzakhalilov of Uzbekistan who got a first-round bye. Mirzakhalilov is the defending world champion and he won the gold medals of the 2018 Asian Games and the Asian Championship.
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Ashish will take on fourth-seeded Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Bekhjit Ulu in the pre-quarterfinals. He defeated the boxer in the quarterfinals of the Asian Championship last year. 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 rank 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 Borgohin (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. The reason is one win away from qualifying for the Olympics.
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