Devendro storms into Asian Championship semis, books World Championships berth

Devendro Singh moved one step closer to the Olympic dream

One of India’s top prospects, Devendro Singh, clinched a spot in the World Championships by advancing to the semi-finals of the Asian Championships. Singh, a silver medallist at the 2013 Asian Championships, beat Indonesian Cornelis Kwangu Langu 3-0 in his quarterfinal bout, the Times of India reports.

Singh’s trademark aggression was on full display, but more impressive was the control and precision with which he landed his right uppercuts and hooks. Fleet-footed Singh pierced Langu’s defence with this uppercuts and landed jabs and hooks to chalk up points.

This victory is significant because it helped Singh qualify for the World Championships in October, which serve as the first proving ground for the Rio Olympics. Singh will next face top ranked Uzbek fighter Hasanboy Dusmatov in the semifinals. A highly impressed national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, told press correspondents that though Singh’s next opponent is a stiff test, his current form might just make him a dark horse going into the contest - "He boxed extremely well today. It was a very dominant performance and even though he faces a very tough opponent in the next round, he might just surprise everybody given the form that he is in."

Singh beat China's He Junjun in similar fashion during yesterday's pre-quarterfinal bout. The Manipuri pugilist came out strong from the opening bell and put his Chinese opponent on the back foot with a series of jabs. Singh dominated the first round, which proved to be a rainy day fund as he slowed his pace in the following rounds. As the fight progressed, Singh stopped being the aggressor and looked to counter-punch but it seemed that his initial volley made Junjun apprehensive of engaging Singh first.

Devendro Singh was denied a gold medal by Temertas Zhussupov of Kazakhstan in the 2013 edition and had to settle for a silver, but it is obvious from his performances that he's got his eye on the big prize and is steaming towards it.

L. Devendro Singh (49kg) reaches semis of Asian Boxing Championships; Qualifies for the World Boxing Championships pic.twitter.com/VNI6JoXbzi

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) September 1, 2015