Sachin (50kg) was the lone Indian boxer to assure himself of a medal at the ongoing World Junior Championships by advancing to the semifinal even as two others fell by the wayside after losing in the quarters in Moscow.
Sachin out-punched France’s Enzo Grau 3-0 to sail into the last-four stage.
However, it was curtains for Naveen Boora (57kg) and Sandeep Ghanghas (75kg), who bowed out after quarterfinal losses.
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While Naveen lost 0-3 to American Gabriel Flores, Sandeep was outwitted by a similar margin in his bout against Romanian Alberto Biro.
India had not won a single medal at the previous edition of the event in 2013, a massive fall in performance given that it was an Indian — Vipin Kumar (50kg) — who was adjudged the best boxer in the inaugural championship back in 2007.
In that year, India had won two gold and one silver medal to share the top spot in overall standings besides having the highest points per boxer, a performance which has not been matched till now.
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In 2009, India had returned with one silver and three bronze medals, followed by a silver and a bronze in the 2011 edition.