In bid to qualify for Rio Olympics, Vikas Krishan takes pro-boxing route
In a bid to boost his chances to qualify for the Rio Olympics, Indian middleweight boxer Vikas Krishan will be competing in a AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) bout in Uzbekistan on February 26. A total of 20 boxers across weight divisions can qualify for the Olympics through the APB. The middleweight category of the APB has two quota places for the Rio Olympics with the top-two ranked boxers making the cut for the Olympics.
There are a total of six ways for male boxers to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Boxers can qualify via participation in the WSB (World Series of Boxing), APB, through the 2015 World Championships, the continental qualifiers, the 2016 APB and WSB Olympic Qualifier and finally the 2016 AIBA World Olympic Qualifier.
No boxer from India has currently qualified for the 2016 Games. By virtue of his decision, the 24-year-old world bronze medalist will be the first Indian to take part in the APB event, although several others have participated in the AIBA’s other semiprofessional league — the World Series of Boxing.
Vikas too had the opportunity to compete in the WSB a couple of years ago but turned down that opportunity. According to Vikas’ coach Jagdeep Hooda, the boxer had been attempting to participate in APB — which is an invitation only tournament — for the past couple of months.
The fact that the Indian boxer is ranked 6th in the AIBA world rankings and is a medalist at the world and continental levels helped his case. Krishan only got the final go ahead on Tuesday.
And so while the rest of the Indian boxing contingent will be training at NIS Patiala, with their sights on the Asian Olympic qualifiers on March 23 in Quian’an, China, Vikas will be heading to Tashkent where he will take on Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov in a six round encounter.
“Right now it doesn’t make sense to limit the number of chances we have to get to the Olympics. The point of taking part in the APB will be that if he does well, he has the chance to take part in the APB Olympic qualifiers which will be held (between May 13-22) in Bulgaria,” said coach Hooda.
While Krishan is the 2010 Asian Games gold medalist and the bronze medalist in the middleweight division at the 2014 Games, Madrimov was a silver medalist at the Incheon Games, albeit in the welterweight (69kg) division. Krishan believes that beyond the chance to help him qualify for Rio, the tournament will help him when he also takes part in the subsequent Asian Olympic qualifiers.
“From what I have noticed, boxers who have competed in the WSB and APB tend to be favoured by judges even is tournaments like the World Championships. So in China (Asian Olympic qualifiers) if I am involved in a close bout, my participation in the APB might help me out,” says Krishan.
Vikas also says the APB will allow him to get some much needed exposure. This has been the bane of Indian boxers ever since the AIBA derecognised the Indian federation. “Over the last few months I have found it difficult to find good sparring partners in India and I think I will get a chance to compete against some very good boxers in the APB. A couple of years ago, I had a chance to participate in the WSB but I turned down the opportunity. I didn’t want to miss the chance this time around,” he says.
