A hat-trick for Vijender

Becomes the first Indian boxer to qualify for third straight Olympics

To Vijender Singhs growing list of achievements,one more entry was added on Sunday. The 26-year-old from Bhiwani became the only Indian boxer to have made three Olympics after he sealed a spot for the London Games at the qualifying event in Astana,Kazakhastan. Yet,if there was more relief than joy in Vijenders voice at his latest first,it was because it came off the very last chance.

I was under tremendous pressure coming into this event, admitted Vijender,speaking to The Indian Express from Astana after his 27-17 win over Mongolias Chuluuntumur Tumurkhuyag in the middle-weight quarterfinals.

Especially since I couldnt qualify for the Olympics at the World Championships in Azerbaijan last year. I wanted this win badly. Im glad that I have qualified. It feels great to make it for a third time. I have answered my critics and I can focus on training for the big event, he said.

Of course,there are two more games left in the tournament,and Vijender insists he hasnt lost sight of that. He takes on Tajikistans Sobirjan Nazarov in the semi-final and a win might set up a potential showdown with old rival Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan.

At the moment,Iam concentrating on the next bout. Now that theres no pressure,at least for this event,Ill play more freely. Atoev is in good form and if I win in the semis,I will be against him if he wins too. I had defeated him at the 2010 Asian Games,but he is a world class boxer. I need to play against such boxers more, said Vijender,who is the fifth Indian boxer to book the spot for London after Vikas Krishan,Jai Bhagwan,Manoj Kumar and L Devendro Singh.

Interestingly,it was in Astana last time around that Vijender qualified for the Beijing Games. Then,as now,it was his last opportunity. The co-incidence wasnt lost on him. Astana has been lucky for me. Last time too,I qualified in the last qualifiers here and it came as a big relief.

Sangwan,Manpreet advance

In the evening,Sumit Sangwan 81kg also entered the semifinals by beating Koreas Hyeongkyu Kim 22-12. He will face Jordans Ihab Almatdault in the semis. However,Sangwan needs to reach the final to ensure a London spot,though with just three places on offer,he can still make it by winning the bronze medal playoff.

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Manpreet Singh 91kg also advanced,beating Chingis Borbashev of Kyrgyzstan despite being down 4-8 in the opening three minutes. He came back strongly in the second round which resulted in three compulsory counts for Borbashev in the next round,leading to the referee awarding the bout to Manpreet. He will now face Irans Ali Mazaheri in the semifinal.