Mixed outing for Indian boxing contingent as Sanjeet, Nishant make their way to the quarterfinals of the World Championships

A sad day for the Indian contingent as medal hopeful Rohit Mor and Akash Sangwan crash out from the pre-quarterfinals of the 2021 World Boxing Championship.

Akash Sangwan, who featured in the 67kg category started with a lot of aggression against Cuban pugilist Kevin Brown. Both the boxers threw some heavy blows at each other. But as the bout went on the Cuban pugilist proved experience against the young Indian who is playing at the World event for the first time.

Brown eventually got the win by technical superiority and will now go up against Lasha Guruli of Georgia in the quarterfinals. A win there will assure him of a medal at the World Championships.

The day started for India with a huge setback as young Indian pugilist Rohit Mor crashed out of his debut World Boxing Championships. The 57kg category boxer has had a very impressive run in the event but his journey came to an end at the pre-quarterfinals. Rohit Mor lost to Kazakhstan’s Serik Temirzhanov by a 1-4 verdict.

The disappointment continued as Sumit who features in the 75kg category also went down fight against Cuba’s Yoenlis Hernandez in the pre-quarterfinal at the World Boxing Championship.

Late night matches from Sunday saw pugilists, Sanjeet and Nishant Dev have made it through to the last eight joining compatriots Akash Kumar (54kg) and Narender (+92) at the World Boxing Championships.

Reigning Asian champion Sanjeet lost the opening round of his bout but the Rohtak based pugilist came roaring back against the Georgian opponent Giorgi Tchigladze. He eventually won a very tight battle by a scoreline of 4-1 in a split decision and has progressed to the quarterfinals. Another win and Sanjeet will be assured of a medal at the World Boxing Championship.

Another debutant pugilist Nishant also matched Sanjeet as he lost the first round and then came back to win the bout. The Karnataka based boxer made a great counter-attack with some great blows and exceptional movement to dodge his opponent’s punches. Nishant fought valiantly and edge Mexican boxer Alvarez Verde by a scoreline of 3-2.

Sanjeet at the moment is a step away from winning a medal at the World event. He will take up against Italian boxer Aziz Mouhiidine. Meanwhile, Nishant will faceoff against Russia’s Vadim Musaev in a crucial quarterfinal encounter.