Commonwealth Games 2018: Boxers pack a punch as five enter semis

Manoj Kumar

Veteran Manoj Kumar (69kg) assured himself the second Commonwealth Games medal of his career as five Indian boxers entered the semi-finals of the mega-event with contrasting victories in the quarters here yesterday.

The debutant trio of Amit Panghal (49kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg), Naman Tanwar (91kg) and Satish kumar (+91kg) joined Manoj in the semifinals of the mega-event, where Indian boxers had won three silver and a bronze medal the last time around. Amit defeated Scotland's Aqeel Ahmed in a split 4-1 verdict. Naman, 19, on the other hand, hammered Samoa's Frank Masoe 5-0 in his quarterfinal clash to move into the medal round.

"I didn't expect Ahmed to be this good. He surprised me with his speed and my counter-attack wasn't working at all. The coaches then told me to go all out aggressive which is what got me the results that I wanted," Amit told PTI after his bout. Chasing a third successive international gold, the Haryana lad overcame a rusty start to turn the tables on his opponent.

"This is going to be the biggest medal of my career so far," said the World Championships quarter-finalists. Amit had lost the opening round on a majority decision but came back strongly to clinch the bout and a spot in the semifinals in his maiden appearance at a multi-sport event.

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