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One-sided contests were on the cards on the opening day of the sixth elite men’s national boxing championship that got underway in Hisar, Haryana.
A huge gap between those on the fringes and India’s international boxers attending the national camps and regularly getting international exposure was also visible on an opening day.
The 2019 world bronze medallist Manish Kaushik began his campaign on a winning note in the 63.5 kg bout. Army's 26-year-old 2020 Tokyo Olympian didn’t face any challenge from Prabhat Diwedi of Madhya Pradesh in his first bout.
Kaushik dominated the first two rounds of the bout and was far ahead of his rival in terms of skill and speed. However, in the third round Diwedi couldn’t carry on and the referee stopped the contest (RSC) in favor of Kaushik, who will next face Sandeep Doni of Andhra Pradesh in his second round on Tuesday.
It was an easy day for Rohit Tokas, the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, as he scored a convincing 5-0 win over Rahul of Uttarakhand.
Sachin of Railways didn’t work extra hard to sail into the next round of 57kg category. His victim in the opening bout was Raman Sharma of Daman and Diu, whom Sachin defeated 5-0 to set up a clash with Neeraj of Haryana in his next bout on Monday.
Promising pugilist Govid Sahani got a walkover in the 48kg opening round against Gujarat’s Jenish Patel. Govind’s next opponent will be Man Singh of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the 54kg category, Priyandhu Dabas didn’t sweat to move into the second round. Dabas’s rival Prakash Singh of Chhattisgarh could hardly withstand a flurry of punches and the referee stopped the contest in the first round.
India’s seasoned boxer and six-time Asian championship medallist Shiva Thapa got a bye in his first round. He will next face Jaswinder Singh of Delhi on Monday.
Heavyweight duo Sanjeet and Narender of Service Sports Control Board (SSCB) also got a bye in their first round of the competition.
More than 300 boxers from across the country are competing in 13 weight categories.
