Indian boxer Sumit continued his impressive form and moved into the pre-quarterfinals after defeating Abdumalik Boltaev of Tajikistan in the 75kg round of the 32nd match at the 2021 AIBA Men's Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday.
Sumit started the bout aggressively right from the first minute and dominated in a highly engaging and busy bout. Boltaev however tried to gauge Sumit's strategy but the Indian played on the front foot, taking away the first two rounds comfortably from his southpaw opponent.
Trailing unanimously, Boltaev hit the aggressive mode in the third round but couldn't match the sharp footwork and work rate of Sumit, who kept landing precise punches before securing a unanimous victory.
In the Last-16 stage, Sumit will be up against Cuba's Yoenlis Hernandez on Monday.
Later tonight, Sachin (80kg), Govind Sahani (48kg) and Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg) will be seen in action. Govind will play for a spot in the quarter-finals whereas 2015 edition's bronze medallist Shiva and Sachin will play in the round of 32 stage.
Earlier, during the matches played late on Friday night, debutant Nishant Dev made his way into the 71kg pre-quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory against Mauritius's Merven Clair. Nishant will now square off against Mexico's Alvarez Verde in the Last-16 round on Sunday.
Apart from Nishant, three more Indian boxers will play in the pre-quarterfinals stage on Sunday. The reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) will take on Georgia's Giorgi Tchigladze while Akash Kumar (54kg), who received a walkover in the last round, and Narender (+92kg) will face Puerto Rico's Caleb Tirado and Tajikistan's Jakhon Qurbonov respectively.
( With inputs from ANI )
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