OP Bhardwaj, India s first Dronacharya awardee, dies at 82
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OP Bhardwaj, India s first Dhronacharya awardee in boxing, died on Friday after battling prolonged illness and age-related issues. He was 82 and had lost his wife Santosh to ill-health about 10 days ago.
Bhardwaj was bestowed the Dronacharya award, the highest national honour in coaching, jointly with Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (wrestling) and OM Nambiar (athletics), when it was introduced in 1985. He had been unwell for many days with a lot of health issues and was hospitalised. Age was a factor and there was also the shock of losing his wife about 10 days back, TL Gupta, a close family friend and a former boxing coach, said.
Blow to Indian boxers as final Tokyo Olympics qualifier is scrapped
World silver medalist Sonia Chahal (women s 57kg) is among the Indians who will miss out on Tokyo.
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India s hopes of adding more boxers to their Olympic contingent came to an end on Monday after the International Olympic Committee s (IOC) decision to scrap the final boxing qualifier for Tokyo 2020 - a global event which was due to take place in Paris in June. The decision was announced by the IOC s Boxing Task Force (BTF).
The decision would be particularly felt in the men s and women s 57kg divisions which are among India s strongest weight categories. India has qualified a boxer in the 57 kg (and previously the 56kg) divisions in three consecutive Olympics prior to Tokyo. Among the boxers who will miss out include Commonwealth Games gold medalist Gaurav Solanki (men s 57kg), 2017 world quarter-finalist Kavinder Bisht (men s 57kg) and world silver medallist Sonia Chahal (women s 57kg).