Manoj Kumar through to the quarterfinals of World Boxing Championship

Manoj Kumar (64kg) made his way to the last 8 of the World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Manoj Kumar, who is the sixth seeded boxer in the light welterweight category defeated Ulysse Yves of Canada 2-1 in the third round.

Manoj Kumar’s start to the bout was not that good as he lost the opening round to the Canadian boxer but after that the World No. 6 made a strong comeback in the next two rounds as he out punched his rival to make it to the last 8 of the tournament. The individual scoreline read 28-29 29-28 29-28 in favor of the Indian boxer.

With this win Manoj Kumar became the 2nd Indian boxer after Shiva Thapa (56kg) to enter the quarterfinals of the Championships.

Manoj will now take on the Cuban Yasnier Lopez, who caused a huge upset in the third round by defeating the 3rd seeded Armen Zakaryan of Russia quite convincingly.

There was also a bit of disappointment as Manpreet Singh (91kg) lost his bout 0-3 to the top seeded Teymur Mammadov of Azerbaijan in the pre-quarters.

Tomorrow is again a big day for the Indian team as 3 Indian boxers will be in action in the pre-quarters of the Championships.

In 60 kg wt. category Vikash Malik will take on the 5th seeded Irish boxer Seen McComb whereas in 81 kg wt. category Sumit Sangwan will lock horns with the 8th seed Siarhai Novikau of Belarus and in the super heavyweight (91+) category Satish Kumar will be up against the Belarussian Sudzilouski Yan.

Due to provisional suspension imposed on the Indian Boxing Federation, the country’s pugilists are competing in the Championships under the banner of International Boxing Association (AIBA).