2016 Rio: Shiv Thapa, three others boxers recommended for prestigious Olympics Scholarships

New Delhi: In a major boost to India's chances of sending more boxers to the 2016 Rio Olympics, three pugilists have became eligible for the prestigious Olympics Scholarships.

Shiva Thapa (56kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg), Sumit Sangwan (69kg) and Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg) will get USD 800 per month until August 2016 if they manage to Qualify for the Olympics, besides an additional USD 5,000 to cover their transportation cost for participation in the Olympic qualifying events.

Thapa is a World Championships bronze-medallist, while Bidhuri and Sangwan have impressed in the elite World Series of Boxing for Italia Thunder and USA Knockouts respectively. Jangra is a Commonwealth Games silver medallist.

They were recommended by the the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

After the departure of Vijender Singh, who fought his first professional bout in October, Indian boxing is certainly devoid of star presence. But with the coming of young boxers into the international fold, and of course, India are once again expected to hit global headlines from the boxing arena.

(With PTI inputs)