London Olympics 2012

Star Indian woman boxer MC Mary Kom (51kg) continued to make confident strides towards booking an Olympic berth by entering the World Championships' quarterfinals but L Sarita Devi's fate hung in balance after she lost a close last-16 bout in Qinhuangdao, China on Tuesday.

The success of Manny Pacquiao is delivering a knockout blow to Filipino dreams of a first Olympic gold medal, with young boxers fast-tracking to the professional ranks in a desperate bid to escape poverty and emulate the success of their hero.

Hitting rock bottom six months before the London Games was the best thing that could have happened to Steve Hooker, the Olympic pole vault champion said, after climbing out of an abyss of self-doubt to qualify last week.   

Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin is relishing the exhaustion of intense training in her rushed bid to represent the United States at the London Games.

India's L Sarita Devi (60kg) stunned defending champion and world number 2 Gulsum Tatar of Turkey to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the seventh World Women's Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China on Monday and inch closer to qualifying for the London Olympics.

Fighting for the lone Olympic berth for Asia in the middleweight 75kg division, Indian woman boxer Pooja Rani pulled off a thumping win in the opening round of the World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China on Saturday.

Star Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal and national champion Anthony Amalraj failed to book a berth for the upcoming London Games after crashing out of the World Olympic Qualification Table Tennis Tournament in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.

Indian women boxers were off to an impressive start at the World Championships-cum-Olympic Qualifiers in Qinhuangdao, China with Mandakini Chanu (57kg) and Neetu Chahal (69kg) advancing to the second round with easy wins.

India's five-time world champion MC Mary Kom on Friday got the seventh seeding and a first-round bye in the draw for the World Women's Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China -- the first and only qualifying event for the sport ahead of its historic Olympic debut in London.

The London 2012 Olympics torch was kindled by the sun's rays in ancient Olympia on Thursday, sparking a relay that will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic stadium's cauldron at the Games opening ceremony on July 27.