Promising Delhi lad Abhilash withstood a strong challenge from Mohammad Ali of Uttar Pradesh to record an impressive 3-2 victory in a gripping 69kg first round bout on the opening day of the National boxing championships at the Baddi University of Emerging Sciences and Technology here on Friday.
The 19-year-old Abhilash, a Khelo India silver medallist and a two-time National youth bronze medal winner, came up with straight punches and upper cuts against Ali who put up a good fight with his powerful combinations.
As the duel hung in the balance, Abhilash used his long reach and avoided taking blows in the last two rounds. That helped him stay marginally ahead.
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“Good that I had a tough start. This weight itself has so many strong boxers and such an early challenge will help me in the future,” said Abhilash, who trains in Haryana’s boxing hub Bhiwani.
Ankush Dahiya, last edition’s 60kg silver medallist who switched to 63kg, faced some difficulty before taming A. Sudarshan of Chhattisgarh 5-0.
The taller Sudarshan used his reach to land blows off counterattacks. Dahiya’s left jabs and combinations helped him have the upper hand. The Railways boxer maintained the intensity to ward off Sudarshan’s threat.
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Nishant impresses
Nishant Dev, an up-and-coming boxer from Karnataka, displayed his fine assortment of shots to batter Parlad Singh of Punjab 5-0 in a bout punctuated by medical breaks and a standing count for the latter.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) had to overcome factional tussles in Tamil Nadu and Manipur before finalising the draws late on Thursday evening.
Other important results (preliminary rounds): 52kg: Siddharth Solanki (Del) bt Mewa Singh (Chd) 5-0. 57kg: P. Appalaraju (AP) bt Rahul Kumar (JK) RSC-R2. 60kg: Fahijas Rahman (Ker) bt Santosh Barali (D&D) 3-2; Sahil (Har) bt Varun Phaartyal (Utk) 5-0; Rohit Chavan (Mah) bt Mazhar Hussain (WB) 3-2; Ashish (AIP) bt Ashok Patil (Goa) 5-0.
63kg: Yogesh Tokas (Del) bt Bittu Kanwal (Utk) 5-0; Rudhra Pratap (Bih) bt Sahdev Hooda (AIP) 3-2; Jimil Thomas (Ker) bt Apujam Malemnganba (Man) 5-0; Sachin Dalal (Har) bt Subam Gurung (Meg) 5-0; Akash Sangwan (SSCB) bt Tiakumzuk Jamir (Nag) RSC-R3; Rohit Kumar (Chd) bt Chander Mohan (HP) 3-2; Yash Goud (Mah) bt V. Praveen Kumar (TS) 5-0 .