Reigning India Open gold medallist Neeraj stunned 2016 World champion Alessia Mesiano to enter the final of the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial international boxing tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia on Friday.
Neeraj, a bronze medallist at the Strandja Memorial, eked out a narrow 3-2 win over Mesiano in the 57kg category to assure himself at least a silver.
It was a neck-and-neck fight, but a series of clear punches from the Indian in the final round sealed the tie in his favour.
Earlier, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gaurav Solanki and 2019 India Open silver medallist Govind Sahani assured two more medals for India by entering the semifinals.
Solanki defeated Russia’s Maksim Chernyshev 3-2 in the 56kg category on Thursday. Also, Sahani outboxed Tajikistan’s Shermukhammad Rustamov in the 49kg category to earn an RSC win.
However, it was curtains for Ashish Insha in the quarterfinals of the 52kg, losing 1-4 to Russia’s Islamitdin Alisoltanov. The match was in the balance till the last round before Ashish conceded a few clear punches in the dying minutes.
2018 India Open gold medallist Sanjeet had to concede his bout against Russian counterpart Daniel Lutai after suffering a cut on his forehead in the first round of the match.
