Asian Junior Boxing C’ships: Gaurav Saini out-punches Zakirov to enter final, 3 others in semis

Dubai: India’s Gaurav Saini stormed into finals of the 70kg junior boys event by defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Zakirov Mukhamaadaziz at the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships here.

The boxer from Haryana, Gaurav looked in good touch and, despite some resistance from his Kyrgyz opponent, did not lose any control before securing a 4-1 win in the light middleweight category.

Three other Indians Ashish (54kg), Anshul (57kg) and Bharat Joon (+81kg), too, put up impressive performances to progress into the last-4 stage on the third day of the prestigious continental event.

Earlier Rohit Chamoli (48kg) and Ankush (66kg) had secured their places in the semifinals in the junior boys’ event.

Ashish and Anshul too were dominant against their respective opponents, Rahmanov Jafar from Tajikistan and local favourite Mansoor Khaled. While Ashish notched up a comfortable 5-0 win, Anshul’s strong blows and continuous attack forced referees to stop the contest in the first round of the match itself and give the result in the Indian’s favour.

On the other hand, Bharat had to work hard during his narrow 3-2 win in the hard-fought quarter-final against another Uzbek pugilist Kenesbaev Aynazar Tolybae.

Meanwhile, Krrish Pal (46kg) and Preet Malik (63kg) suffered defeats in their respective last-eight bouts.

Seven youth men boxers, Vishvanathth Suresh (48kg), Victor Shaikhom Singh (54kg), Vijay Singh (57kg), Rabichandra Singh (60kg), Vanshaj (64kg), Daksh Singh (67kg) and Jaydeep Rawat (71kg), will fight in the quarter-finals on the fourth day, looking to confirm medals for themselves. It is the first time that both the age groups—junior and youth—are being played together in the Asian Championships.

The on-going Asian Championships is the much-needed competitive tournament for the promising young talents at the Asian level after a gap of almost two years, lost due to pandemic.

India boxers have already assured the country of more than 25 medals in the event which has been witnessing competition in the presence of pugilists from strong boxing nations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to name a few. (UNI)