GOLD COAST: Boxers Amit Panghal, Naman Tanwar, Mohammed Hussamuddin, Manoj Kumar and Satish Kumar assured India at least a medal each as they reached the semi-finals of their respective weights categories on the sixth day of the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Tuesday.
The day started with Amit Panghal defeating Aqeel Ahmed of Scotland 4:1 in the quarter-finals of the men's light flyweight (49 kilogram) category and Naman outplaying Samoa's Frank Masoe by a unanimous 5:0 verdict in the heavyweight (91kg) division.
Later in the day, in men's 56kg category, Hussamuddin overpowered Muilenga Everisto of Zambia in a unanimous 5:0 verdict while Manoj defeated Australia's Terry Nickolas 4:1 in the 69kg category. Satish also won his bout with a split 4:1 decision in +91kg quarterfinals bout.
In the 49kg category bout, the opening round was evenly matched with both boxers maintaining a high tempo. Amit found it difficult to penetrate Aqueel's defence and land blows to the head.
Amit did better in the second round, changing his tactics by landing more body shots and attacking his opponent's defence from different angles.
The Indian dominated the third round, putting Aqeel under pressure with his superior hand speed and feet movements.
In the other match, Naman had a much easier day in office against Masoe.
The 19-year-old Indian used his superior height, power and hand speed to pepper his oppoinent with a constant barrage of punches.
The Samoan managed to land very few punches as Naman used his excellent reflexes to good effect.
The Indian dominated all the three rounds and it came as no surprise when all the five judges voted in his favour at the end.
In the 56kg category bout, Hussamuddin was dominant right from the start as there were couple of standing counts against the Zambian boxer. Towards the end of bout, Hussamuddin became more aggressive and landed punched from left to right.
He will now face Peter McGrail of England on April 13.
In 69kg quarterfinal bout, the first two rounds between the Manoj and Nickolas were a proper slugfest. But at the end Manoj won his bout with a split decision in his favour.
In +91kg action, Satish defeated Nigel Paul of Trinidad & Tobago 4:1. The duo played aggressively and tried to corner each other. At times, the Indian player received few heavy punches but after three rounds, ring judge declared the Indian boxer as the winner.
In the women's section, veteran M.C. Mary Kom has already reached the semi-finals, while another former world champion, L. Sarita Devi, is in the quarter-finals.