ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships: Balwinder Marches into Semi-Finals

2008 Youth Commonwealth gold medallist Balwinder Beniwal (64kg) became the third Indian boxer to make it to the semi-finals at the 2011 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea. The boxer paved the way for his second international medal with a resounding triumph. But the other three Indian boxers in the fray on day nine of the competition had to face defeat. Asian Championship debutants Santosh Harijan (52kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and Arun Hooda (+91kg) had their hopes of making it to the medal round dashed, as they finished on the losing end, in the round of eight of their respective weight category.

Balwinder who got a walk over in the previous round was up against Aamir Khan of Pakistan, in quarter-finals of the light welter weight division. The 20 year old, who was eliminated at the same stage of the tournament in the 2009 edition at China, exhibited exceptional and skill and agility as he hammered the Pakistani boxer in a one-sided contest. Khan, who competed at the last AIBA World Championships and Asian Games, had not answer to the Balwinder’s hard hitting punches. The Indian went on to claim his semi-final spot with a 28:11 victory on points. The win also assures Balwinder of at least a bronze medal finish. He will now take on Munkherdene Vranchimeg of Mangolia in the semis.

But the day did not turn out so well for Santosh, Mandeep and Arun. Battling in the fly weight division, Santosh went up against Yong Chang of China. National Games winner Santosh, who’s had a fairly good year so far, lost crucial points early in the bout. Although the boxer put up a spirited performance in the last round, trying to mount a comeback, he was unsuccessful and lost 11:14. Playing in the welter weight category, Mandeep was up against Rustam Svayev of Kazakhstan. The strong Kazak boxer offensive approach did not allow Mandeep to play his natural game. The 18 year old tried hard to get a few combinations going, but Rustam, a quarter-finalist at the AIBA World Championships was relentless in his attack. Mandeep’s campaign at the championships came to an end with a 13:21 defeat.

Arun Hooda also making his first appearance at the biennial event came up short against Dosjan Ospanov of Kazakhstan, in the super heavyweight division. The 23 year old was down two points after the opening three minutes of play, but did well to come back in the second and win it 6:4, equalling the scores. The third though completely belonged to the Kazakh. In the end Arun lost 15:21.

With Commonwealth Champion Paramjeet Samota (91kg) and Commonwealth Games bronze medallists, Amandeep Singh (49kg) having already qualified for the semi-finals, India would have representation in three weight categories at the Asian Championships on the 11^th of August.