My dream is to participate in Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian Boxer Neeraj Goyat

Mumbai: Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat is optimistic that he can qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The 25-year-old from Haryana, who started his boxing career at the age of 14, failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016, after having settled for bronze.

Neeraj, captain of the Haryana Warriors team, recently took his side to the final of the Super Boxing League, a franchise-based league in India. The Warriors defeated North East Tigers 12-6 and set up the title clash against Maratha Yoddha on Sunday.

He was happy with a tournament like this and said that this will only benefit the sport.

“In India, during the past, there has not been a boxing league like the Super Boxing League (SBL). There has not been an event like this. In this tournament, national champions and commonwealth games medallist have participated. SBL has been converted into a team-oriented league from an individual-oriented league,” the youngster stated.

Looking back at the Rio Olympic qualifiers, the Haryana youngster said “Last year, I participated in the Olympic qualifiers in Venezuela. There I won bronze medal. Had I won silver, I would have qualified for the Rio Olympics. My dream is to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Hopefully, I can qualify for the main tournament and compensate for the opportunity lost.”

Goyat, who won the WBC Asia Welterweight championship by beating Allan Tanada of Phillipines, said that he practiced hard ahead of the clash.

“Ahead of Battlegeround Asia, I practiced in New Delhi. I played a couple of practice matches, and after that I trained in Pune. There were twelve rounds in Battleground Asia.

One week before the clash against Allan Tanada, I did 50 rounds of sparring. In each round, I fought against a separate opponent. Winning is important because of my ranking. I did a lot of practice in order to win the bout,” he said.

Neeraj Goyat will now lead his Haryana Warriors team when they face Maratha Yoddhas in the final of the Super Boxing League on Sunday.