Boxam meet: Vikas Krishan among 6 Indian male boxers to reach semis, Amit Panghal ousted in quarters
Indian boxer Vikas Krishan has reached the semi-finals of the Boxam meet in Valencia, Spain. Krishan scored a win over 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Vincenzo Mangiacapre in the 69kg category quarter-final on Thursday.
Krishan, who has already secured his berth for the Tokyo Olympics, won his bout over Mangiacapre by split decision.
Krishan was among six Indian men who won their bouts on Thursday and reached the semi-finals, assuring themselves of a medal at the Boxam meet.
However, there was one big setback for the Indian contingent as Amit Panghal, the World No.1 in the 52 kg category, suffered a shock defeat in the quarter-finals.
Panghal was defeated by Spain's Gabriel Escobar by split decision in their quarter-final bout.
Satish Kumar, Manish Kaushik, Ashish Kumar, Sumit Sangwan, and Mohammad Hussamuddin were among the other Indians who also advanced to the semi-finals.
5 Indian men join Vikas Krishan in the Boxam meet semi-finals
Three other Indian male boxers, who are assured of their Tokyo berths, also won their quarter-final bouts at the Boxam meet on Thursday.
Satish Kumar defeated Denmark's Morten Givskov Nielsen 5:0 in the +91kg category, while Manish Kaushik overcame Kazakh boxer Zakir Safiullin in the 63kg category by split decision.
Ashish Kumar also advanced, defeating Italy's Remo Salvati, in the 75kg quarter-final by split decision.
Among the other Indians who advanced to the semis at the Boxam meet were Sumit Sangwan, a winner over Belgium’s Ziad El Mohor in the 81kg category, and Mohammad Hussamuddin, who overcame Italy's Simone Spada in the 57kg category.
While Sangwan won his bout by split decision, Hussamuddin came through by unanimous decision.
However, Sanjeet was unable to join his compatriots in the last four as he went down fighting to Italian Matteo Girolamo in the 91kg category.
Four Indian women boxers, including MC Mary Kom, won their quarter-final bouts at the Boxam meet on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals.
Nine Indians have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held later this year, in their respective categories.
The list includes Amit Panghal, Vikas Krishan, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, and Manish Kaushik on the men's side, and MC Mary Kom, Pooja Rani, Lovlina Borgohain, and Simranjit Kaur on the women's side.