Sofia (Bulgaria), Feb 26 India's Deepak Kumar cruised into the 52kg semi-finals of the 72nd Strandja Memorial boxing tournament with a 5-0 win over Bulgarian Darislav Vasilev on the fourth day.
Asian Championship silver medallist Deepak looked in complete control throughout the match on Thursday. Deepak was swift in his movements inside the ring and his speedy footwork did not allow his Bulgarian opponent any chance to score. With this win, Deepak became the second Indian after Naveen Boora (69kg) to seal a spot in the semi-finals in the on-going tournament and also assured a second medal for the country.
Both Ind will play Uzbekistan boxers in their respective last-4 clash on Friday night. While Deepak will face a strong challenge from Rio Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov, Boora will be up against Asian Games gold medallist Bobo-Usmon Baturov.
Meanwhile, Indian women boxers Jyoti Gulia (51kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) suffered 5-0 defeats in their quarter-final bouts. Gulia lost to Romanian boxer Lacramioara Perijoc, Kachari also went down against the world championship bronze medallist Naomi Graham of USA. Manjeet Singh also lost his +91kg quarter-final bout against Armenia's Gurgen Hovhannisyan.
( With inputs from IANS )
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