Vijender Singh entered the semifinals in sensational fashion by knocking out his opponent Elias Nashivela of Nambia in the very first round of their quarterfinal bout in the 75 kg class in the boxing competitions of the Commonwealth Games here on Sunday night.
Vijender who stepped into the ring to thunderous applause from the jam-packed stadium, opened his tally with a right cross. The bout progressed with Elias backing away and Vijender pursuing, trying to find the openings in the Namibian's defence.
Then, one minute and 22 seconds into the first round, came the blow which floored Elias. The Namibian boxer was in the process of advancing when Vijender feinted with his right.
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Just as Elias shifted his block, Vijender unleashed a tremendous left hook which hurled Elias a few feet away and dumped him near the corner. The stunned Elias was unable to regain his feet and stayed down for the count.
Disappointment
But there was disappointment too for India earlier in the day. Akhil Kumar who was the defending champion in the 56 kg class, was beaten by Louis Julie of Mauritius. Julie who is a Beijing Olympics bronze medallist, proved to be a clever boxer and he fully utilised the openings that Akhil left in his defence.
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Akhil knew that he was up against his toughest opponent of the Games, and was cautious in his approach. Nevertheless his habit of keeping his arms low and advancing with an open guard proved costly for him. On at least four occasions Julie scored points by landing straight lefts on Akhil's uncovered face.
In the first round the score was level at one all, but in the second round Julie established a 3-2 lead. In the third round Julie stayed out of the range of Akhil's punches and continued to score with accurate lefts to Akhil's face. Eventually Julie won by a 7-5 margin.
In the 69 kg class quarter final Dilbag Singh was given a tough time by Moabi Mothiba of Botswana. Dilbag won 11-3 but also received some hard punches and the score did not reflect the closeness of the contest.
In 60 kgs class, Jai Bhagwan was assured of a medal as he entered the semi finals with an easy 10-0 victory over Waheed Sogbamu of Nigeria.
In 64 kgs, Manoj Kumar entered the semifinals with a 6-2 victory over Black Moses Mathenge of Kenya while in the 91 kg class Manpreet Singh lost by a narrow 10-11 margin to Steven Ward of Northern Ireland.