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Dingko qualifies for Olympics

It was ecstasy and agony for India as Asian Games bantamweight gold medallist Dingko Singh confirmed his berth for the Sydney Olympics and two of his compatriots, H. Srinivas Rao (flyweight) and K.Sanjit Singh (light-welter) lost their semi-final bouts in the King's Cup boxing tournament in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Dingko, the 23-year-old Indian Navy officer, became the fourth boxer to qualify for the Sydney Games after he overpowered A Hadi of Iran in the bantamweight semi-finals.

While Srinivas Rao still has hopes of making it to Sydney -- he has to win the bout for the third place tomorrow -- there is no such chance for Sanjit Singh.

Interestingly, all the three Indians were pitted against Iranians in their respective semi-finals.

There was a pall of gloom in the Indian camp as Srinivas Rao lost to Rahim Mohammad in the flyweight semi-finals.

Rao fought with a lot of spirit but the first round went Rahim's way as the Indian failed to connect most of his blows. In sheer frustration, he threw his punches wildly, which had no impact on his rival.

In the second round, he used more aggression but lacked stamina and fitness as the Iranian held sway.

In the penultimate round, Rao had his rival at the receiving end but failed to captalise on the advanatge. Rahim regained his ground in the last round and attacked furiously as Rao ran for cover. The Indian suffered a wicked cut on his eyebrow and that ended his resistance. Rahim polished off the bout, winning 8-5.

Though the defeat is a blow to the Indian's hopes, Rao is still hopeful of his chances. "I did not do my best today, but I still have a fight for the third place. So I am going to keep trying," he said.

The first three boxers in the flyweight will qualify for the Olympics.

Coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said: "I am disappointed. Rao should have made it but lack of experience affected him. Let's see what happens the day after tomorrow. But I'm worried about his injury.''

Dingko's was a facile victory over Akbar Hadi. He started confidently against his taller rival and attacked the Iranian on the face. However, Akbar hit back with powerful rights. Dingko showed his class in the first full bout he had in the tournament with quick reflexes. Intially he had a problem getting past Akbar's defence, but slowly built a lead on points.

The third round saw the bout getting away from the Indian as Akbar, with his good reach, unleashed a flurry of hard punches. Dingko took a blow on the ribs and then one blow the belt. However, he fought gamely and gave it all he had in the fast and furous final round to finally win 10-7.

After the bout Dingko admitted he found the going difficult.

"I had a very difficult time. I got him in the third round and had to work hard at staying in. Also, I kept trying to get past his guard, but he had it up all the time. Anyway I am glad to have made it to the Sydney Olympics."

UNI