VISAKHAPATNAM: Former Commonwealth Games medallists Manoj Kumar and Mandeep Jangra were among the comfortable winners on a fantastic day for Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) on the National Championships, here on Thursday. Manoj defeated Uttar Pradesh’s Rahul Gupta to advance to the second round of the welterweight (69kg) category.
Mandeep, meanwhile, got the better of Tamil Nadu’s RP Prakash Raj. The 2014 Commonwealth Games silver-medallist is returning to action after recovering from a wrist injury and made his debut in the middleweight 75kg category. But he revealed that he will move back to his favoured category (69 kg) after the event.
“It was a good outing. I’m in the 75 kg category just for this tournament. With the added weight, the opponents are likely to be more powerful. But I’m determined to counter that and win a medal and get some valuable experience,” Mandeep told Express.
Also advancing was King’s Cup bronze medallist Rohit Tokas, who defeated Tripura’s Vishnu in his light welterweight (64kg) opening bout.
In another triumph for RSPB, another of their strong medal hopes, Manish Panwar (81kg), also advanced to the second round after beating Services Sports Control Board’s Sachin. Over 300 boxers from 37 states and sports promotion boards are competing in the championships.