Defending champion Manoj Kumar of India made it to the quarterfinals of the men’s light welterweight (64kg) category in the boxing competitions of the 20th Commonwealth Games at the SECC hall here on Sunday.
Pitted against Arthur Biyarslanov (Canada), the pre-quarterfinal proved to be close one before the Indian won on points in a split decision. The Haryana pugilist, who had height advantage over his rival, had problems early on as the Canadian pressed hard, moving swiftly and troubling Manoj with consistent jabbing.
Manoj, however, was quick to realise the threat posed by his rival and was able to counter him.
The Indian used the left-right combination to good effect and was able to push the Canadian back to the ropes on more than one occasion before time ran out in the first round.
The second was almost a repeat of the latter half of the first round, as Manoj kept Biryarslanov on the defensive. He threw jabs at will and came up with a sequence of hooks that caught the Canadian off-guard time and again.
In the third round, the tired Indian was caught napping by his rival.
The aggression unleashed by the Canadian saw Manoj failing to guard himself and take a few bad hits including one on his head.
The Indian was quick to see through the designs of his rival and thereafter kept his distance to ensure a win.
Manoj will meet Samuel Maxwell (England) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Sejwal on Sunday made an entry into the men’s 50m breaststroke semifinals, his second here, as he finished third in the heats at the Tollcross swimming centre. The Indian, who was placed 10th overall after all the five heats were gone through, was timed at 28.19s.
Sajan Prakash, the other Indian swimmer in the fray, failed to impress yet again as he finished 17th overall in the men’s 100 butterfly with a time of 55.58s. He was placed sixth in the fifth heat.
