Former junior World champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) was the lone woman boxer to make the final, while Asian silver-winner Deepak Singh (49kg) led four men into the summit clashes of the Thailand international tournament in Bangkok on Friday.
Ashish Kumar (75kg), Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Husammuddin (56kg) and Brijesh Yadav (81kg) were the other three men to make the gold medal bouts.
However, former Asian youth silver-medallist Ashish (69kg) lost his semifinal, to Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk in a split decision, to sign off with a bronze medal.
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Among the women, Manju Rani (48kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) ended with third-place finishes. Manju went down to Chuthamat Raksat of Thailand, while Bhagyabati lost to China’s Li Qian.
Earlier, Deepak hardly broke a sweat against Bhutan’s Tashi Wangdi. The Indian’s dominance was such that Wangdi faced two standing eight counts and was left with a gash above his right eye. The judges eventually ruled unanimously in the Indian’s favour.
Nikhat was up against Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong. The Hyderabadi impressed with the ferocity of her punches as she beat the local favourite 4-1 and let out a scream to express her elation when her hand was raised by the referee.
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“I dedicate my today’s semifinal victory at the Thailand Open to our brave soldiers of the Kargil war who sacrificed their lives for our country,” Nikhat said after the bout.
The results (semifinals):
Men: 49kg: Deepak Singh bt Tashi Wangdi (Bhu); 56kg: Mohd. Husammuddin bt Ammarit Yaodam (Tha); 69kg: Wuttichai Masuk (Tha) bt Ashish; 75kg: Ashish Kumar bt Fanat Kakhramnov (Uzb); 81kg: Brijesh Yadav bt Saranon Klompian (Tha).
Women: 48kg: Chuthamat Raksat (Tha) bt Manju Rani; 51kg: Nikhat Zareen bt Jutamas Jitpong (Tha); 81kg: Li Qian (Chn) bt Bhagyabati Kachari .