Bishwamitra Chongtham, 3 other Indian boxers enter last four of Asian Youth & Junior Championships
Indian boxer Bishwamitra Chongtham lived up to his billing, powering past Kazakhstan's Kenzhe Muratul to enter the flyweight (51kg) category semifinals of the ASBC Youth & Junior Championships in Dubai.
The World Youth Championships bronze medalist proved too strong for Muratul, cruising to a 5-0 victory and joining three other Indian boxers in the last four. With this win, the Manipur boxer is guaranteed at least a bronze medal.
Indian boxers have a field day
In the middleweight (75kg) category, Deepak dominated proceedings against Iraq’s Dhurgham Karimfrom from the opening bell. The Indian landed a flurry of punches in the third round, forcing the referee to stop the bout.
National champion Abhimanyu Loura (92kg) also moved into the semifinals after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Tenibekov Sanjar in another one-sided affair. The lanky Haryanvi was declared the winner after a referee-stopped-contest (RSC) verdict in the second round.
In the women’s section, Preeti (57kg) outwitted Mongolia's Tugsjargal Nomin, claiming an RSC verdict in the second round.
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Aditya Janghu (86kg) was the lone Indian boxer to suffer defeat on the second day as he lost to Kazakhstan’s Temrlan Mukatayev in the quarterfinal.
On the third day of the tournament, six Indian junior boxers will be seen in action: Krish Pal (46kg), Ashish (54kg), Anshul (57kg), Preet Malik (63kg) and Bharat Joon (81+kg) in their quarterfinal bouts, and Gaurav Saini (70kg) in the semifinal.
The championships are taking place after a gap of two years, because of the pandemic, providing much-needed competition to young Asian boxers. The event has thrown up intense action owing to the presence of competitors from strong boxing nations including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, to name a few.
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