Key Points

Women boxers Nisha (54kg), Muskan (57kg), Vini (60kg), Nisha (65kg), Aarti Kumari (75kg), Parchi Tokas (80+kg) along with Mausam Suhag (65kg), Rahul Kundu (75kg) and Hemant Sangwan (90kg) in the men’s event have reached the final. Kritika (80kg) has a direct entry in the final.

The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which are being held simultaneously, provide India’s rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia’s toughest opponents. India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers — 20 in each age group — with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit.

India are also assured of 13 medals in the U22 category with five boxers set to fight for gold.

In the 54kg semifinal, Nisha completely dominated Himari Watanabe of Japan for a 5:0 verdict. Vini (60kg) and Nisha (65kg) also clinched their respective semifinals, with the former beating Ruixue Li and Nisha defeating Ziyue Bao of China.

Earlier in the 57kg semifinal, Muskan overturned China’s Jiaen Wang’s slight advantage with a dominant third round to win 4:1.

Aarti Kumari then rained in enough punches on Thanh Tuyen Tran of Vietnam to force the referee to stop the 75kg semifinal bout in the second round.

Parchi Tokas then rounded off the tally with a 3:2 win over Zhaksylyk Sanina of Kazakhstan in the 80+ kg semifinals.

In the evening session, Mausam Suhag continued India’s winning streak with a 5:0 win over Akshan Hashemi of Iran in the men’s 65kg bout, and Rahul Kundu joined them in the finals with a 5:0 win over Shildebay Nursultan of Kazakhstan in the 75kg semis.

Hemant Sangwan then ended the day for India on a winning note with a 5:0 win over Qirui He of China.

Yashika (women’s 51kg), Akanksha Phalaswal (women’s 70kg), Shivam (men’s 55kg), and Gaurav (men’s 85kg) will return home with a bronze medal each.

- IANS