As many as 10 boxers from SSCB and 6 boxers from Haryana entered the semifinals on the fourth day at the 5th Junior Boys National Boxing Championships in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
In the 54kg category, Devang of SSCB toppled Hari Sundas of Sikkim with an unanimous decision win.This is Devang’s second consecutive 5-0 win in the competition.He will take on Sundram Yadav of Uttar Pradesh in the semifinals clash.
In the 50kg category, SSCB’s Divash Katare triumphed over Punjab’s Gagandeep in a dominating 5-0 win. He will now go head to head against home favourite Loma Riang of Arunachal Pradesh in the semis.
Other pugilists from SSCB who will take the ring in the semifinals are Mahesh (48kg), Sahil Baord (52kg), M Kabiraj Singh (63kg), Prashant (66kg), Rahul Kundu (70kg), Sahil (75kg), Hardik Panwar (80kg), Hemant Sangwan (80+kg).
For Haryana, Yogesh Dhanda was up against Tamilnadu’s J Ebinezer Sam in the 57kg quarterfinals clash. Yogesh proved too good for Ebinazer who found it difficult to retaliate against his powerful punches. Ultimately, Yogesh secured his spot in the semifinals with an easy 5-0 win. He will now be up against Hemanth Jagan Kumar Pappu of Andhra Pradesh in the last four clash.
Haryana’s Sikander (48kg), Dhruv (52kg), Aman Dass Ahlawat (63kg), Lokesh (75kg), Chirag Sharma (80kg) will also be in action in the semifinals
The duo of Nikhil Nandal (50kg) and Arman (57kg) from Chandigarh continued their dream run as they entered semifinals with contrasting victories in the quarterfinals.
Arman forced a referee stopping the contest (RSC) in round 3 against Manipur’s Kh Jhonson whereas Nikhil had a tougher challenge from Anurag Bhartiya of Uttar Pradesh as both the boxers fought till the end to grab the win. With hardly anything to separate the two pugilists, Nikhil prevailed in a close 3-2 win. While Arman will face Arunchal Pradesh’s Tagio Liyak, Nikhil will take on Tamilnadu’s K Dastageer Shariff in the semifinal.
Anirudha Rawat (70kg) from Delhi also made his way to the semis with a convincing 5-0 win against Punjab’s Gursahib Singh. He will be up against Rahul Kundu of SSCB in the semifinals.
BFI Media Release