New Delhi, July 12: Commonwealth champion Amandeep Singh (49kg) cruised into the quarterfinals, while it was curtains for Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist Balwinder Singh (64kg) on the third day of the 57th Senior Men’s National Boxing Championships here on Monday.
Amandeep, competing for the Railways Sports Promotion Board, staved off resistance from Delhi’s Sandeep Malik to register a 5-1 win after trailing 0-1 in the first round and being locked 1-1 in the second round.
Amandeep will now face Devendro Singh Laishram in the last eight round, after the Manipuri teen out-punched Jharkhand’s Amit Kumar 12-2.
It was disappointing though for Balwinder (Haryana), cousin of Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh, who went down 4-8 to Punjab’s Lakhbir Singh.
Former Commonwealth champion Sunil Kumar, however, ensured that Haryana had something to cheer as in his 7-0 rout of West Bengal’s Lal Chand in the 49kg category.
Former cadet world champion Vipin Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) eked out a hard-fought 3-2 win over Himachal Pradesh’s Baljinder in the light fly weight division. Vipin would next meet Sanjay Kolte of Services Sports Control Board in the quarterfinals. Sanjay, a former national champion, defeated Andhra Pradesh’s S. Ramu 18-1.
Two-time champion Kuldeep Singh (75kg), of the Railways Sports Promotion Board, had it easy against Rajasthan’s Rohit, out-classing his rival in the very first round.
In a rare instance, a boxer was disqualified for turning up unshaven in the ring in a light-flyweight pre-quarters. Jagdeep Kumar of Punjab entered the ring against All India Police’s L. James Bond but the referee and later the jury disqualified him for being in violation of the international rules.