CHENNAI: On Saturday, India’s medal hope Amit Panghal had begun his AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championship campaign in a dominating fashion, outwitting his opponent from Chinese Taipei 5-0. A flawless performance that showed why he’s billed as No 2 seed.
Twenty-four hours later in Ekaterinburg, India’s other serious medal contender Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) made a contrasting start. Having gotten a bye in the opening round, Kavinder had waited for long to enter the ring. And when his moment arrived on Sunday, the Asian Championship silver medallist was made to toil hard by China’s Chen Zhihao. However, Kavinder showed why he has been seeded No 5 as he handled the pressure and managed to churn out a hard-fought win to keep India’s hopes intact.
“It was good. I was eager to get the first bout out of my way, this had taken long. My opponent was quite tough. He used height advantage to good use. He was fast too. But I managed to deal with him well,” he said.
His opponent’s toughness was evident in the final round. Kavinder opted for an aggressive approach and threw combination of punches. However, Zhihao managed to keep him at bay, using his good reach. But that did not discourage Kavinder as he maintained the intensity level. His overall display appealed to the three judges by the ringside and helped him seal pre-quarters spot. The 26-year-old will take on Finland’s Arslan Khataev next.
Later on Sunday evening, India’s S Sanjeet (91kg) posted a 4-1 victory over Scott Forrest of Scotland.
Brijesh Yadav showed plenty of fight before going down 1-4 against Turkey’s Bayram Malkan in the men’s light heavyweight section (81 kg). In the very first round, Malkan landed a blow on Brijesh’s face. Behind on points, the Indian gave a good account of himself in the second and third round, but it was not enough.