The 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) representing the Services defeated Maharashtra's Sashikant Yadav 5-0. With a cautious start in the first round, Hussamuddin picked up the pace drawing from his experience to blank out his opponent with a solid display of power play in the last two rounds.
The 2016 World Youth Boxing champion Sachin Siwach (57kg) exhibited a brilliant display of speed and power against Pralhad Panda of Goa. The Railways boxer who won a bronze medal in the 52 kg category last year dominated the bout right from the start, resulting in a Referee Stopped the Contest (RSC) verdict in round 3.
In the middleweight category, 2019 Asian Championships Silver medallist Ashish Kumar showed his class as he rained punches on his opponent, Gnaneshwar Kurna of Telangana, and the bout had to be abandoned in the second round itself. The lanky boxer while enjoyed local support from the students of Baddi University aims to bag the yellow metal after winning a bronze in the last edition.
In one of the day's best bouts, Ayaan Parihar of Himachal Pradesh defeated Delhi's Abhilash in an evenly contested welterweight bout. Both the boxers were relentless throughout the bout, landing accurate blows at each other and Ayan managed to get the final nod from the judges to win the match with a 3-2 split verdict.
Railways' Dinesh Dagar (69kg), the President's Cup Gold medallist in Indonesia early this year, ensured a one-sided win as he outpunched Vinod Bhardwaj of Jammu and Kashmir with a unanimous verdict. Dinesh had finished runner-up last year and will look to win the title this time around.
Maharashtra's Rohit Chavan (60 kg) also continued his winning run as he defeated Telangana's, Niraj Kumar. Rohit went all out from the start and his thunderous blows resulted in the referee's intervention, while the contest had to be stopped in the second round itself.
Chandigarh's Shubham defeated Orissa's Dipak Kumar 5-0 in the lightweight category. Shubham's quick movement and speed proved too good for his opponent. Making it a double was Pankaj Chauhan (75kg) also from Chandigarh, who defeated Manikant Shaw of West Bengal 5-0 to reach the pre-quarters.
Arjuna awardee and Olympian Dingko Singh, Rajendra Prasad, V Devarajan, Jitendra, L Lakhra were present throughout the Championships to witness the 300 plus boxers in action. The finals of the fourth edition will be played on October 10.
( With inputs from IANS )