Dingko Singh, Rana in quarters

Lightweight pugilist Narendra Rana clinched a quarter-final berth by stopping Laos rival Phaysithong in the second round. Rana was 10-3 up on points when the referee stepped in to stop the bout.

Dingko and Rana joined lightfly Srinivasa Rao and lightwelter K Sanjit Singh, who had won their first rounds on Saturday, with the lone Indian reverse coming in the exit of featherweight Ramanand in the opening round on Saturday.

Dingko began his final campaign to clinch a much-awaited qualifying berth by overwhelming his rival to lead the list of four out of five Indians who moved up. The naval petty officer exhibited his class, unleashing a stunning left-right combination in the first round to race to a 5-0 lead.

Keen to ensure there were no mishaps, he went all out in the next round to maintain scoring. The Cambodian tried desperately, but could not catch the fleet-footed Indian even once as the score stretched to 9-0 after the second round.

Dingko continued with his clinical dismantling of Mean Seo Un when the referee stepped in midway through the third round and stopped the bout as it proved too one-sided, the verdict being RSC outclassed.

Dingko will take on a Mongolian rival in the last eight bout on Monday after the latter won a points decision against a Tadjikistan boxer.

Rana, who missed a berth by a whisker in the first qualifying event in Tashkent late last year, also began his campaign in a determined fashion.

The slimly built Rana started cautiously and held a 4-3 lead over the stocky Phaysithong, who began holding the Indian to evade punches and promptly received a caution.

In the second round, Rana changed tactics to great effect. He landed a left straight followed by a powerful right cross to the Laos boxer’s chin to force a mandatory count.

He once again had Phaysithong on the mat, taking advantage of a missed punch by his opponent with a sharp right cross to the face to force the referee to step in and stop the mismatch.