Indian boxers Satish Kumar, Lovlina Borgohain, Ashish Kumar qualify for Olympics

Amman: Three more Indian boxers, Satish Kumar (+91kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg), joined seasoned Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) in the qualifiers' list for the Tokyo Olympic on Sunday by advancing to the semifinals of the Asian Qualifiers with mostly commanding victories here.

Two-time world bronze-winner and second seed Borgohain eased past Uzbekistan's Maftunakhon Melieva to enter the semifinals.

Also through to the last-four stage was Asian silver-medallist Ashish with a 5-0 win over Indonesia's Maikhel Roberrd Muskita, the bout being more intense than what the final scoreline might suggest.

Commonwealth Games silver-medallist and fourth seed Satish Kumar (+91kg) then put it past Mongolia's Daivii Otgonbayar 5-0 in the final Indian bout of the day to make it a highly successful outing for the country. Satish has a tough at hand in the semifinal where he will face reigning world champion and top seed Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan.

However, first-timer Sachin Kumar (81kg) went down in a split decision to China's national champion Daxaing Chen in his quarterfinal bout. Sachin, nonetheless, remains in the hunt for an Olympic berth if he can win the two-bout box-off between the losing quarterfinalists. The top five boxers in his category will get a spot in the Tokyo Games.

While Rani, Borgohain Ashish, and Satish secured their maiden Olympic spots, Krishan will be making his third successive appearance at the Games.

Rani will next face the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China, who has the top billing in the 75kg category. Qian had no trouble beating Mongolia's Myagmarjargal Munkhbat 5-0 in the opening bout of the day.

Awaiting Krishan in the semifinals is second-seeded Ablaikhan Zhussupov of Kazakhstan, a two-time world bronze-medallist and a former Asian silver-winner. Zhussupov defeated Thailand's Wuttichai Masuk in a unanimous verdict.

Sachin was out-scored by Chen, a taller man who found his range after trailing in the opening round. Using his telescopic range, Chen managed to connect some clean straights while Kumar paid dearly for holding back too much after dominating the first round.

Borgohain and Kumar continued the rampaging run with comprehensive victories. While Borgohain dominated all through, Ashish found his bearings after a competitive opening round against Muskita. Next up for Ashish is top seed and reigning world silver-medallist Eumir Marcial of the Philippines.

Satish was the last Indian to take the ring on Sunday and he signed off the proceedings in style, thrashing his 38-year-old rival in a domineering performance.