India assured of medal in China Cup boxing

Two-time national champion Jasveer Singh (81kg) was assured of at least a bronze medal without even stepping into the ring on a mixed day...

Two-time national champion Jasveer Singh (81kg) was assured of at least a bronze medal without even stepping into the ring on a mixed day for Indian boxers in the AIBA 3-Star China Cup in Guiyang city on Monday.

Two of the three Indian pugilists in action lost their bouts but not before putting on a valiant fight against their more fancied rivals.

Olympian Diwakar Prasad (60kg),who is making a comeback to the ring after more then two years in wilderness,beat Germanys Eugen Burhard 3-2 in a hard-fought contest to enter the quarter-finals.

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However,S Santhosh Singh (54kg) and Lakhbir Singh (64kg) lost ,Indian Boxing Federation Secretary General P K Muralidharan Raja said.

Up against Russias Vladimir Nikitin,Santhosh went down 2-3 despite a spirited late fight after being down 0-2 in the first round.

Lakhbirs was an even tougher contest and after being down 2-3 at the end of the second round,he bounced back to make it 3-3 in the final three minutes against Russian Adlan Abdur Rashidov.

The 20-year-old Indian was tied 7-7 in the count-back as well but ended up on the losing side after three of the five judges declared Rashidov as the better of the two boxers.

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Jasveer,meanwhile,got a bye into the semis and will take on Chinese Meng Fen Long in the final-four round.

On Tuesday,Sunil Kumar (51kg) and Kuldeep Singh (75kg) will be in action in their respective pre-quarter-final bouts.

The China Cup,a ranking points tournament,features 102 boxers from 19 countries including traditional powerhouses like Cuba,Russia and Kazakhstan.