Indian boxing recap: Devendro, Manoj punch their way into the round of 16

Laishram Devendro Singh and Manoj Kumar displayed contrasting styles of play to sail into the pre-quaterfinal round in their respective categories to cap off a superb day for the Indian boxing team.

Devendro set the ball rolling with a stunning effort to defeat Molina Figueroa Bayron of Hondurus in the men’s light fly weight category (49 kg) boxing event at the Excel South Arena. In a severely lop-sided contest, Singh redefined dominance as he knocked down his opponent twice in the first round itself and the referee had to call off the fight with still 36 seconds remaining.

Later in the day, Manoj Kumar got through to the round of 16 as he defeated Serdar Hudayberdiyev of Turkmenistan by a 13-7 verdict in the light welter (64 kg) category.

The twin victories proved to be the perfect boost for the Indian boxing contingent which had descended into a pal of gloom following the controversial defeat of Sumit Sangwan in the 81 kg category yesterday. The duo now join compatriots Vijender Singh (75 kg category) and Jai Bhagwan (60 kg category) in the pre-quaterfinals.

The 20-year-old Manipuri lad, who was making his Olympics debut, showed no signs of nerves and pounced on Bayron from the very beginning. Displaying great swiftness, Devendro unleashed a barrage of punches and cuts to catch his opponent off guard. At the one minute mark a hard left hook from the Indian floored Bayron.

Devendro continued the relentless attack as another upper cut followed by a right left combination prompted the referee to give the exhausted Bayron a standing count before stopping the fight at 2 minutes and 24 seconds. The Indian was leading 24-2 when the bout was called off by the referee.

Manoj, on the other hand, was cautious to begin with and he took time to size up his opponent in close first round which ended at 2-2. In the second round there was a sudden rise in tempo as Manoj opened up and showed his aggressive intent. A series of blows later the Indian got ahead in the decisive second round with a 7-3 margin.

With a cushion of four points, Manoj once again adopted a defensive strategy and looked to stay clear of the advances of his opponent in the third round. With Hudayberdiyev getting desperate, he gave a few openings to Manoj who took full advantage and took the third round 4-2 and won the contest with an overall verdict of 13-7.

Despite the cruising wins there is little time to relax for the two as bigger challenges await them in the round of 16. While Manoj Kumar will take on the number three seed Thomas Stalker of Great Britain, Devendro Singh will be up against fourth seed and Beijing Olympics silver medalist Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia.