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Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Manoj Kumar (64kg) continued his winning streak as he marched into the quarter-finals of the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championship at Amman, Jordon on Wednesday (03 July’13). The Indians had a 100 percent strike rate on the third day of the continental championship with all three pugilists registering a win in their respective weight category. After Manoj, it was National Games bronze medalist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and reigning national champion Sukhdeep Singh (75kg) who powered through to the round of eight.
Kumar playing his second bout in a bid for the continental crown, made little work of his Sri Lankan opponent Mohamed Dilshan. Manoj was his usual aggressive self right from the world go – his penetrating left and right jabs catching Dilshan off guard on many occasions. He was clearly the superior boxer and made it easy for the judges to declare him winner by a unanimous decision. The 26 year old Asian Championship bronze medallist is now one step away from another bronze and will have to out punch Armi Khir of Malaysia in the quarters, in order replicate his 2007 success.
In the welterweight division, recently crowned Limassol Boxing Cup Champion Jangra was brimming with confidence as he took on Lebanese boxer Antar Khodor. Mandeep, who lost out in the QF stage of the previous edition of the tournament in 2011, looked keen on making amends to his Asian Championship record.
The 20 year old took advantage of his fast pace ring movement along with precise attacks to dominate the proceedings and maintained a steady lead throughout the three rounds. In the end he won on a unanimous decision to secure a QF berth. He now has the task of overcoming Nodirbek Kosimov of Uzbekistan in what is expected to be a hard challenge for the Indian. Makar Mazay Memorial Tournament winner, Kosimov secured a bronze medal in the last edition at Incheon and after a bad patch of from, he has secured his place back in the national squad and will be gunning to better his previous performance.
Debutant Sukhdeep also gave a good account of his boxing skills. He overhauled South Korean boxer Kim Dachwan in a one-sided contest displaying immense technical soundness. He now faces 2010 World Combat Games bronze medallist, Jafoyev Navruz of Tajikistan on Friday (05 Jul’13) for a spot in the semi-finals of the championship.
Later on today (04 Jul’13), Vikash Malik (60kg) takes on Olympian and reigning Continental Champion Yunusov Anvar of Tajikistan for a place in the quarter-final round of the light weight division. Gold medal winner at the Limassol Boxing Cup, Madan Lal will lock horns with Shakhobiddin Zoirov of Uzbekistan. Zoirov claimed a bronze medal at the 2012 AIBA Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, he has since moved up to the flyweight class and will be counting on his rhythm changes to do most of the damage. He will certainly be a handful, but the experience of Madan will prove to be a significant tool in handling the Uzbek’s moves. Gold medal winner at the Asian Olympic Qualifying tournament Shiva Thapa will look to open his account at the Asian Championships when he takes on Li Lin-Yen of Chinese Taipei.
Olympian and Asian Games silver medalist Dinesh Kumar (91kg) along with super heavy weight boxer Satish Kumar will fight their QF bouts, after securing a first round bye. Dinesh who has moved up from light heavy weight division will square off with Mirzabek Hasanov of Uzbekistan, while super heavy weight boxer Satish Kumar will have an uphill task as he looks to scale 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist Dychko Ivan of Kazakhstan.
