Asian silver-medallist Ashish Kumar (75kg) sailed into the quarterfinals of the continental Olympic Qualifiers for boxing with a thumping win over fourth seed Kyrgyz Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the last-16 stage on Thursday.
Ashish prevailed 5-0 to set up a clash with Indonesia’s Maikhel Roberrd Muskita, who defeated New Zealand’s Ryan Scaife in his pre-quarterfinal bout.
Making the semifinals would assure Ashish of his maiden spot in the Olympics this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Up against a spunky rival, who he defeated in the Asian quarterfinals last year, Ashish played the waiting game to perfection, allowing Uulu to expend himself trying to connect.
Uulu swung his arms more than the Indian but it was Ashish who connected more accurately in the opening three minutes.
However, Uulu kept up the pressure in the second round as well and managed to land a couple of solid rights, which caught the Indian off-guard and led to scores being split.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ashish’s powerful and precise right hand served him well in the final three minutes as judges ruled unanimously in his favour.