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Diwakar, Vijender book Olympic berths

Source: PTI
May 11, 2004 20:29 IST
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Indian boxers secured two more Olympic berths when Diwakar Prasad and Vijender reached the finals in the third Asian qualifying event for the Athens Olympics in Karachi on Tuesday.

In the bantamweight category, Diwakar Prasad out-punched his Jordanian opponent while Vijender defeated his counterpart from Iran in the light-welterweight semi-final.

Vijender had defeated Qatar's Alhadi Abdul Rahman 35-9 in the quarter-finals.

All the 18 finalists from the event qualify for the Olympics, beginning in Athens on August 13.

Around 150 Asian boxers from 32 countries are vying for as many as 62 Olympic berths from Asia.

Indian will now have four pugilists in Athens as Akhil Kumar (flyweight) and Jitender (light-heavy) have already made the grade via the first two Asian qualifying events in The Philippines and China.

However, the biggest disappointment for India is the inability of its top boxer and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mohammad Ali Qamar to qualify for the Olympics after his controversial first round exit from the Karachi event.

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