Boxers confirm eight more medals, India’s tally now stands at 17

YEREVAN (Armenia), Dec 1: Asian junior champions Nisha (52kg) and Akansha (70kg) progressed to the semifinals as eight Indian boxers assured themselves of a medal each at the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Yerevan, Armenia.
The Indian girls once again led the proceedings with their dominant show as all five boxers in action won their respective matches to enter the semifinals.
Akansha began the day on an aggressive note before her opponent Kurbonboeva Rayhona of Uzbekistan unsettled the Indian pugilist with her counter attack. However, the Indian ultimately won the bout with a 4-1 split decision verdict.
Nisha, on the other hand, proved too strong for Grace Conway of Ireland as she was declared winner by a unanimous 5-0 decision.
Shrushti recorded a comfortable win in 63kg after the referee stopped the contest in round two against Mariia Kazaova of Russia.
Kritika (75kg) put up an equally dominant show and did not allow her opponent Melendez Sanchez of Mexico to settle down before winning the bout after the referee stopped the contest in round one.
Vini (57kg) entered the semifinals after her opponent Nunez Naiomi of Trinidad and Tobago gave walkover.
It was a mixed day in the boys section as three of the five Indian boxers made it to the final four.
Hemant Sangwan (80+kg) and Sikandar (48kg) outperformed their opponents Bachevvski Roselin of Bulgaria and Urmanov Ramzidin of Kyrgyzstan respectively to win their bouts with identical 5-0 decisions.
In the 75kg quarterfinals, Sahil had to work hard against Ruslan Esanov of Uzbekistan, but the Indian grabbed a 3-2 split decision win, showcasing impressive quick movements and better decision making.
However, M Kabiraj Singh (63kg) and Rahul Kundu (70kg) suffered defeats in the quarterfinals.
With the addition of eight more medals, India’s total count now stands at 17 as Megha (80kg) had already confirmed a medal after getting bye in the first two rounds. (PTI)