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Asian Boxing C’ships: Amit, Vikas and Varinder storm into semis; India assured of 15 medals

Dubai, May 27 (UNI) Defending champion Amit Panghal (52kg), debutant Varinder Singh (60kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) advanced to the semifinals, assuring India of record-breaking 15 medals at the ongoing 2021 Asian Boxing Championships, here.

India’s previous best-ever medal haul was 13 that was achieved in the 2019 edition of the tournament.

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In the first Indian bout on Wednesday, the World Championship silver medallist Panghal lived up to his reputation and defeated Kharkhuu Enkhmandakh 3-2 in the 52kg quarter-finals.

Both Panghal and Enkhmandakh started the contest in a contrasting manner. While Indian made a cautious start, the Mongolian boxer was aggressive from the word go. However, despite making a defensive start, Panghal quickly shifted gears as both the boxers saw exchanging some heavy blows in a fast-paced fierce battle.

With some timely and precise punches, the top-seeded Panghal edged past the opponent. His tactical brilliance put him ahead of Enkhmandakh and tilted the verdict in his favour in a closely fought game.

With this victory, the defending champion Panghal progressed into the semi-finals and confirmed his third successive Asian Championships medal after gold in 2019 and bronze in 2017.

In the last-4 clash, Panghal will take on Kazakh boxer Saken Bibossinov, whom he beat in the 2019 World Championships semi-finals.

Extending India’s winning-run on Day 3 of the Championships, which is jointly hosted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and UAE Boxing Federation, Varinder Singh outclassed Samuel Dela Cruz of the Philippines 5-0 in a one-sided quarter-final and handed India its 14th medal at the prestigious event.

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