Indian boxers Vishwanath Suresh and Raman dished out stunning performances to enter the semi-finals at the 2022 ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships.
Vishwanath got the better of Tajikistan's Meroj Zoidov by a split 4-1 decision in the 48kg quarter-finals to secure his second successive medal at the prestigious continental championships. On the other hand, Raman (51kg) also confirmed his medal by outperforming Jordan's Yazan Albitar in an impressive 5-0 win.
The last edition's silver medallist Vishwanath, who received a bye in the opening round, exhibited great tactical brilliance against the aggressive opponent from Tajikistan. In an intense battle, the Indian, with his fine defensive skills and counterattacking display, however, managed to keep himself ahead in each of the three rounds.
Meanwhile, Raman had a comparatively easy task against the local favourite. Despite some stiff challenges from the opponent, he kept things in control before winning the match convincingly.
Vishwanath and Raman will now take on Uzbek boxers Miralijon Mavlonov and Khujanazar Nortojiev respectively in the semi-finals on Friday.
Later tonight, five more youth boxers--Anand Yadav (54kg), Ayush (57kg), Rudra Pratap Singh (60kg), Vanshaj (63.5kg) and Anjani Kumar Mummana (67kg)--will fight it out in the quarter-finals in the tournament, where both the age groups of men and women--youth and junior--are being played together.
In the junior boys' section, three Indian boxers, Jayant Dagar (54kg), Chetan (57kg) and Yashwardhan Singh (60kg), made their way into the Last-4 stage while Lovepreet Singh (50kg) exited after enduring a loss against Kazakhstan's Bek Zholdasbek by RSC verdict.
While Chetan outclassed Iraq's Murtadha Hamad by a unanimous margin, Jayant had to work hard during his close 3-2 win over Pansher Aliakhmed of Kyrgyzstan. Yashwardhan was given a walkover against Kuwait's Mohammad Alenzi.
The prestigious continental tournament has been witnessing strong competition in presence of 352 boxers from 21 countries including India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The finals will be played on March 13 and 14.
( With inputs from ANI )
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