Harpal Singh Bedi

New Delhi: Vishwanath Suresh and Raman   came up with awesome performances to  storm into the  youth men’s semi-finals at the Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Monday.

Vishwanath got the better of Tajikistan’s Meroj Zoidov by a split 4-1 decision in the 48kg quarter-finals to secure his second successive medal at the prestigious continental championships.

However Raman (51kg) confirmed his medal by outperforming Jordan’s Yazan Albitar in an impressive 5-0 win. 

In the junior boys’ section, three Indian boxers, Jayant Dagar (54kg), Chetan (57kg) and Yashwardhan Singh (60kg), made their way into the Last-4 stage while Lovepreet Singh (50kg) exited after enduring a loss against Kazakhstan’s Bek Zholdasbek by RSC verdict.

The last edition’s silver medallist Vishwanath, who received a bye in the opening round, exhibited a great tactical brilliance against the aggressive opponent from Tajikistan. In an intense battle, the Indian, with his fine defensive skills and counter attacking display, however, managed to keep himself ahead in each of the three rounds.

Raman had a comparatively easy task against the local favourite. Despite some stiff challenge from the opponent, he kept things in control before winning the match convincingly.    

Vishwanath and Raman will now take on Uzbek boxers Miralijon Mavlonov and Khujanazar Nortojiev respectively in the semi-finals on Friday.

While Chetan outclassed Iraq’s Murtadha Hamad by unanimous margin, Jayant had to work hard during his close 3-2 win over Pansher Aliakhmed of Kyrgyzstan. Yashwardhan was given a walkover against Kuwait’s Mohammad Alenzi.

The finals  are scheduled  for March 13 and 14.

HSB