Harpal Singh Bedi
Brijesh Yadav (81kg) scored a dominating win as Indian boxers began their campaign on a bright note at the AIBA World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Tuesday.
Yadav started slow, he gained in momentum and then thoroughly dominated his first-round contest with Poland’s Maleusz Goinski whom he blanked 5-0. Yadav’s flurry of punches dashed whatever hopes the Pole had as he failed to contain the Indian.
Brijesh’s powerful and highly aggressive play also left Goinski with a gash on his head in the second round for which he needed medical attention.
“I had to work hard against a determined opponent today. I was a bit slow in the first round but I managed to come back in the second through some hard punches. So I had to put in quite a bit of effort,” said Yadav after his victory.
“I am looking forward to my next bout. The coaches will chalk out a strategy for my Turkish opponent,” he added.
Brijesh, who also clinched a silver medal from the Thailand Open in July, thus progresses to a second-round showdown with Turkey’s Bayram Malkan, who got a bye in the first round.
While Yadav was the only Indian in action on Day 2 of the Championships, there is no Indian pugilist on the schedule on Day 3. On Thursday, former India Open champion Manish Kaushik (63kg) will open his medal hunt against Kadyrbek Uulu Argen of Kyrgyzstan.
Amit Panghal (52kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) have been seeded as a total of four Indian boxers got first-round byes at this prestigious tournament.
While Gaurav Bidhuri was the lone medallist from India in the previous edition in Hamburg two years ago, Indian boxers are hopeful about clinching multiple medals this time after commendable performances all through the year.
488 athletes from 89 countries will be vying for medals at this elite event that will continue till September 21.
HSB