Harpal Singh Bedi
New Delhi, 2 May : On a day of mixed fortunes, ace pugilist Mohammad Hussamuddin kicked off India’s campaign with a dominating victory while Varinder Singh crashed out the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Monday.
The two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Hussamuddin (57kg) made lightwork of Macedonia’s Alen Rustemovski in the opening round with a dominating 5-0 win. The Telangana-born pugilist made a cautious start to the bout but shifted gears superbly to assert his dominance over the Macedonian.
Making use of his strength and high technical ability, the Indian was able to land punches accurately and secure the victory with a unanimous decision.
In the 60kg category, Varinder Singh went down fighting against Mujibillo Tursunov of Uzbekistan and exited the competition after suffering a 0-5 defeat.
Tokyo Olympian and 2019 Asian Championships Ashish Chaudhary and debutant Harsh Choudhary will take to the ring for their respective tournament openers. Ashish (80kg) will square off against Meysam Gheshlaghi of Iran while Harsh (86kg) will face Billy McAllister of Australia.
BFI has fielded a 13-man contingent to compete at the on-going event that is witnessing the participation of 538 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 107 countries.
So far, a total of seven Indian male pugilists have won medals at the World Boxing Championships
