India assured of big medal haul as several players enter semi-finals of Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai

Dubai: Defending champion Amit Panghal (52kg) and the redoubtable Vikas Krishan (69kg) were amongst the three Indian boxers who advanced to the semi-finals yesterday as the country assured itself of an unparalleled medal haul of 15 in the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai. Debutant Varinder Singh (60kg) was the other Indian to make the last four.

Amit Panghal secured a second successive medal after overcoming a stiff challenge from Mongolia’s Kharkhuu Enkhmandakh in the last-eight stage, while Varinder Singh defeated Filipino Jere Samuel Dela Cruz 5-0. Vikas Krishna then pulled off a hard-fought 4-1 triumph over Iran’s Moslem Maghsoudi Mal Amir.

The World Championship silver-winning Panghal, who is bound for Tokyo Olympics, won 3-2. The Mongolian produced some fine body punches to unsettle Panghal but took quite a few hits on the counter-attack. Panghal will square off against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov. He had beaten Bibossinov in the 2019 world championship finals. Vikas has set up a semifinal clash with top seed and defending champion Bobo-Usmon Baturov of Uzbekistan. Baturov is also the reigning Asian Games champion and a bronze-medallist from the world championships.