Boxer Amit Panghal to enter Tokyo Olympics as No 1

Boxer Amit Panghal will be entering the Tokyo Olympics as the world number one in the men's 52kg flyweight category.

In the rankings released by International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Boxing Task Force, Panghal has been ranked as number one and he is the only Indian Olympic-bound boxer to be ranked as number one.

Panghal had gone down fighting against the reigning Olympics champion Zoirov Shakhobidin in a hard-fought men's 52kg final at the 2021 ASBC Asian Boxing Championships. As a result, the Indian boxer had to settle for a silver medal.

In the men's rankings, Manish Kaushik is at the 18th spot in the 63kg weight category while Ashish Kumar and Satish Kumar are at the 9th spot in weight categories of 75kg and 91kg.

Six-time world champion Mary Kom has been ranked seventh in the women's 51kg category. Simranjit Kaur is placed at the fourth-ranking in the 60kg category.

Lovlina Borgohain is in fifth place in the 69kg category while Pooja Rani is in the 8th spot in the 75kg category.

Tokyo Olympics were slated to be held last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it will be held from July 23-August 8 this year.