CHENNAI: With temperatures dipping below freezing at night and high wind speed, spring in the city of Ulaanbaatar can be harsh for outsiders. It certainly can be a challenge for most Indians. In these challenging conditions, Vishvanath Suresh is thriving.
The pugilist from Chennai pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday, thereby securing himself at least a bronze medal in the ongoing Asian Boxing Championships in Mongolia's capital. It was also sort of a redemption for the 21-year-old.
The fast-paced boxer stunned World No 1 and reigning world champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan 5-0 in the men's 50kg category at the ASA Arena, thereby securing a place in the semifinals. Tashkenbay was someone who had proven to be an ordeal five years ago. The Kazakh boxer had beaten the Indian 5-0 in the final of the 2021 Asian Youth Championship that was held in Dubai.
While Tashkenbay might have gone on to become a world champ (No 1 rank in world rankings) at the senior level, Vishvanath is just a beginner at this level. In fact, this is his first-ever major competition at the senior level. He had earned a spot in the team after impressing the coaches during the national camp.
"Vishwanath put on a masterclass. He really outclassed the world champion today. It was also a bit of redemption after an earlier meeting at youth level. He stayed composed throughout and never allowed his rival to get into the fight," India coach Santiago Nieva told The New Indian Express.
The impressive outing, his second victory in the event so far, is a step in the right direction for the youngster, who's looking to establish himself at the highest level after producing some notable performances at the youth level.
Inspired by his father M Suresh Babu, a former boxer, Suresh gradually rose the ranks before he earned a spot at the renowned Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune a few years ago. That has aided his progress as he captured the Youth World Championships gold (48kg) — his high-point in his career so far — in 2022. Before that, he had captured the yellow metal at the Asian Youth Championships. More recently in 2025, he had captured the gold medal at the BFI Cup in Chennai before going on to dominate the national boxing championships, which was held at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
However, it has to be noted that his weight category is not part of the LA28 programme and is also not part of this year's Commonwealth and Asian Games. The Olympic weight disciplines generally tend to get more focus and attention.
But in the long run, Vishwanath, who aspires to be part of the Olympics in the future, can move to a higher weight category. However, his focus at this stage of his career will be to keep churning out wins.
Two more wins in the next few days would be an icing on the cake.
Ankushita, Narender in semis
Ankushita Boro (women's 65kg) and Narender ++90kg) also won their respective fights to advance to the last-four stage. However, Aditya (men's 65kg) suffered a defeat to bow out.
