More Indian boxers into semis of Asian Championships, punch tickets to Worlds

Shiva Thapa continues his impressive form

Indian pugilists Shiva Thapa, Vikas Krishan Yadav and Devendro Singh and Satish Kumar continued to build momentum as they advanced into the semifinals of the Asian Boxing Championships, booking spots in the World Championships in the process, according to IBN Live.

Devendro Singh(49 Kg) beat Indonesian Cornelis Kwangu Langu 3-0 in his quarterfinal bout. The 2013 Asian Championship silver medallist’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 his uppercuts and landed jabs and hooks to chalk up points.

Reigning champ in the 56 Kg category Shiva Thapa defeated Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Malabekov 2-1 when the latter could not continue because of a deep cut above his left eye. Not to detract from Thapa’s performance though, as he remained unruffled by Malabekov’s aggression and pressure and showed effective counter-punching, repeatedly landing his left hook.

Vikas Krishan Yadav (75 Kg) also progressed with an easy 3-0 victory over Vietnamese boxer Dinh Hoang Truong. The World Championship bronze medallist’s execution of his strategy was flawless, as he used his renowned defence to dumbfound Truong and landed quick,clean counter-shots.

Satish Kumar (+91kg) defeated Tajikistan’s Siyovush Zukhurov in his quarterfinal to qualify for the World Championships.

It was the end of the campign, however, for Manoj Kumar (64 Kg), Kuldeep Singh (81 Kg) and Manpreet Singh (91 Kg). A Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, Manoj Kumar lost 0-3 to Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov. Kuldeep Singh lost 0-3 to Hyeongkyu Kim of South Korea in a close quarterfinal. Manpreet Singh, who won a silver medal at the Asian Games, lost to Uzbekistan's Rustam Tulaganov.

National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was beaming when he talked about the victors’ performances : "All the three boys who won today were excellent in their performance. All of them have difficult opponents waiting for them in the next round but I am sure they have gained enough confidence to cause upsets.".

He did not seem disappointed that the bigger boxers were unsuccessful in their fights: "Even the boys who lost fought with a lot of heart and I am satisfied with the fact that they gave their best," he added.