New Delhi, Dec 1:
Amit Panghal, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist (51kg), and 2021 Asian Champion Sanjeet (92kg) secured their places in the semifinals of the 7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships with commanding victories along with 10 other boxers representing SSCB on Thursday in Shillong.
Amit Panghal, who represents SSCB faced Mohammad Aarif of Jammu and Kashmir in his quarterfinals bout. Amit demonstrated his experience, dominated the proceedings throughout and ultimately won the bout comfortably in a unanimous decision. Amit will next face Ankit of RSPB in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the 2021 Asian Champion, Sanjeet from SSCB went head to head against 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Naman Tanwar of RSPB in the 92kg quarter-final. Sanjeet was at the top of his game as he controlled the bout and played from a distance, landing hard punches throughout. He continued the momentum and grabbed the win with a unanimous decision. Sanjeet will take on All India Police’s (AIP) Vicky in the semifinals.
The other 10 SSCB boxers who qualified for the semifinals include Barun Singh (48kg), Pawan (54kg), Sachin (57kg), Akash (60kg), Vanshaj (63.5kg), Rajat (67kg), Akash (71kg), Deepak (75kg), Lakshya (80kg), Jugnoo (86kg).
In other significant bouts, representing Assam, the six-time Asian Championships medalist Shiva Thapa, showcased his renowned skill set and power packed punches, dominating the quarterfinal match against Shashank Pradhan of Delhi. He secured a commanding 5-0 victory and will square off against Harivansh Tawari of Maharashtra in the semifinals.
2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sagar (92+kg), who represents RSPB, was up against Navjot Singh of Chandigarh. He started the bout with an aggressive approach and landed a flurry of hard hitting punches in the first round only that led to the referee stopping the contest. He will fight it out against Vishal Kumar of Delhi in the last four stages.
