Guwahati: Sachin Siwach (52kg), Amit Panghal (52kg) and Shiva Thapa (60kg) entered the finals of the second India Open tournament at the Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Stadium in style.
Siwach was in fine form during his high-voltage clash against Commonwealth Games champion Gaurav Solanki. The 20-year-old showed great maturity in seeing out an early assault from his opponent. In the second and the third rounds, it was Siwach who had the upper hand, counter-punching gloriously to a 5:0 win.
Like the previous rounds, local boy Thapa enjoyed plenty of support at the arena. Every punch he threw was met with a raucous ovation. “I threw more punches to put him off guard,” he said after the game. “Playing in Guwahati is always special to me, especially with my family around.”
Elsewhere, Prasad had no answer to Panghal, who continued to be at home in the 52kg category. The Asian champion also registered a win via unanimous decision.
Bantamweight Gaurav Bidhuri, meanwhile, suffered a shock exit from the tournament in the 56kg division. He was defeated 0:5 by Thailand’s Chatchai Decha Butdee, who is one of the three foreigners left among men. In the same category, Kavinder Singh Bisht got the better of senior boxer Madan Lal 4:1 in a split-decision verdict.
Light-fly pugilist Deepak got a walkover victory.
In the 60 kg category, Ankit was no match for Manish Kaushik. The Services pugilist also reached the final in emphatic fashion.
Meanwhile, Duryodhan Singh Negi got the better of Dinesh Dagar. The Haryana boxer was far more compact with his guard but Negi’s attacking game with a flurry of short-arm jabs and hooks eventually saw the latter walk away with a win by a unanimous 5:0 verdict.
In 75kg division, Manjeet Panghal’s evening ended disastrously. Facing Philippines’ Eumir Felix Delos Santos, the Indian twisted his knee and collapsed on the floor, and was stretched off the ring. Santos, on his part, earned a knockout.
There were no surprises in the heavyweight and the super heavyweight categories. Naman Tanwar and Sanjeet will face off in another final after registering comfortable wins in their respective 91kg category bouts. Veteran Satish Kumar also progressed to the summit event with a split-decision 4:1 victory in his favour. He will face Naveen Kumar. Rohit Tokas and Ashish won their bouts in the welterweight categories to make it 17 finallists among Indian men. Seven of those bouts will be all-Indian clashes.
Results
Deepak (49kg) (IND) def Carolo Cano Paalam (PHL): walkover
Govind Kumar Sahani (49kg) (IND) def Tashi Wangdi (BTN): 5-0
Amit Panghal (52kg) (IND) def PL Prasad (IND): 5-0
Sachin (52kg) (IND) def Gaurav Solanki (IND): 5-0
Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) (IND) def Madan Lal (IND): 4-1
Chatchai Decha Butdee (56kg) (THA) def Gaurav Bidhuri (IND): 5-0
Shiva Thapa (60kg) (IND) def D Krystian Sczepanski (POL): 5-0
Manish Kaushik (60kg) (IND) def Ankit (IND): 5-0
Rohit Tokas (64kg) (IND) def Ankush Dahiya (IND): 5-0
Ashish (69kg) (IND) def Clair Marven (MUS): 5-0
Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg) (IND) def Dinesh Dagar (IND): 5-0
Ashish Kumar (75kg) (IND) def Aphisit Khankhokkruea (THA): 4-1
Eumir Felix Delos Santos (75kg) (PHL) def Manjeet Panghal (IND): K/O (Round 1)
Brijesh Yadav (81kg) (IND) def Harsh Lakhra (IND): 5-0
Manish Pawar (81kg) (IND) def Sanjay (IND): 5-0
Naman Tanwar (91kg) (IND) def Praveen Kumar (IND): 5-0
Sumit Sangwan (91kg) (IND) def Sanjeet (IND): 5-0
Satish Kumar (+91kg) (IND) def Hitesh (IND): 4-1
Naveen Kumar (+91kg) (IND) def Atul Thakur (IND): 5-0
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