Tashkent, May 7:
Third seed Satish Kumar (+91kg) and sixth seed Manoj Kumar (69kg) were among the three Indian boxers who qualified for the World Championships after winning their respective box-offs at the Asian Championships here today.
With the trio’s victory, India now have seven boxers confirmed for the World Championships. The others to have qualified are the bronze medal winning duo of Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Amit Phangal (49kg) along with silver-medallists Shiva Thapa (60kg) and Sumit Sangwan (91kg).
The top six boxers from each weight category in the Asian event qualified for the World Championships in Germany scheduled from August 25.
While Kavinder Singh Bisht (52kg) got a walkover against Malaysia’s Salam Abdul Kasim, Manoj prevailed in a split decision against second-seeded Chinese Liu Wei. Satish, on the other hand, sailed past China’s Mu Haipeng in a unanimous verdict.
Bisht, Manoj and Satish had lost in the quarterfinals of the ongoing event.
While Bisht was through without stepping inside the ring, Manoj fought it out in an exhausting battle with Wei during which both the boxers were warned once for excessive bending.
The Indian’s never-say-die spirit came in handy after a sluggish opening round as he pulled through with an effective left straight.
Satish also fought a draining bout against Haipeng, who also ended up getting warned once for excessive bending.
India’s medal count stands at four in the current edition, similar to 2015, even though the medals won were one silver and three bronze in that year. PTI
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