Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) defeated Russia’s Andrei Stotsky, while Akash Kumar (54kg) got a walkover to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the AIBA Men’s Boxing World Championships on Friday.
Akash went ahead after his German rival Umar Salah Ibrahim fell ill and accepted a walkover. Akash will next face Puerto Rico’s Pagan Caleb Tirado.
“His opponent didn’t come for the weigh-ins this morning because he was ill. Something similar happened to us in Varinder Singh’s case. In that case, we lost, today we gained,” said India’s director of high performance Santiago Nieva. said.
Sanjeet did well in the 4-1 win over Stotsky. The Indian was more aggressive, at least in the first two rounds. He even indulged in some sportsmanship, dropping his guard and taunting Stotsky on more than one occasion.
Late on Thursday, Akash Sangwan (67kg) defeated German Daniel Kröter 4-1 to enter the pre-quarterfinals. The 21-year-old will face Kevin Brown of Cuba.
Five-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will play alongside three other Indians on Saturday.
Result:
92 kg: Sanjit bt Andrei Stotsky (Russia); 54 kg: Akash Kumar w/o Omar Salah Ibrahim (Ger); 67 kg: Akash Sangwan bt Daniel Krotter (Germany).
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