2021 Tokyo Olympics | Indian boxing contingent unlikely to increase as qualifiers get canelled

With three Indians making a cut to the 2016 Rio Olympics, it was expected that the contingent will increase by the Tokyo Games gets underway. As many as nine puglists managed to book tickets for the postponed 2021 edition. But, as per the recent reports, the number is not going to increase further because the IOC (International Olympic Association) has scraped the world qualifiers citing ‘challenges’ due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining slots will be filled up equally from all continents based on rankings, while the performances of the last four years will also be taken into account.

The remaining quotas which were up for grabs from India’s standpoint are the men’s 57kg, 81 kg, 91 kg and women’s 57kg category respectively. With no Indian’s having high rankings in the above-mentioned events, there is a slim chance of anyone making the cut. However, Indian boxing's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva is hopeful of a few more entries.