Gaurav Saini reaches final of Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships

Three Indian boxers advance into junior boys’ semi-finals.

India’s Gaurav Saini made his way into the 70kg junior boys final at the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Zakirov Mukhamaadaziz in Dubai.

Three other Indian boxers Ashish (54kg), Anshul (57kg) and Bharat Joon (+81kg), too, put up impressive performances to progress into the last-4 stage on the third day of the prestigious continental event. Earlier Rohit Chamoli (48kg) and Ankush (66kg) had secured their places in the semi-finals in the junior boys’ event.

Gaurav Saini looked in good touch and, despite some resistance from his Kyrgyz opponent, he did not lose any control before securing a 4-1 win in the light middleweight category. Ashish and Anshul too were dominant against their respective opponents, Rahmanov Jafar from Tajikistan and local favourite Mansoor Khaled. While Ashish notched up a comfortable 5-0 win at the Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships, Anshul’s strong blows and continuous attack forced referees to stop the contest in the first round of the match itself and give the result in the Indian’s favour.

On the other hand, Bharat had to work hard during his narrow 3-2 win in the hard-fought quarter-final against another Uzbek pugilist Kenesbaev Aynazar Tolybae. Meanwhile, Krrish Pal (46kg) and Preet Malik (63kg) suffered defeats in their respective last eight bouts at the Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships.  

Seven youth men boxers, Vishvanathth Suresh (48kg), Victor Shaikhom Singh (54kg), Vijay Singh (57kg), Rabichandra Singh (60kg), Vanshaj (64kg), Daksh Singh (67kg) and Jaydeep Rawat (71kg), will fight in the quarter-finals on the fourth day, looking to confirm medals for themselves. It is the first time that both the age groups—junior and youth—are being played together in the Asian Championships.

The ongoing Asian Championships is the much-needed competitive tournament for the promising young talents at the Asian level after a gap of almost two years lost due to pandemic. India boxers have already assured the country of more than 25 medals in the event which has been witnessing competition in the presence of pugilists from strong boxing nations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to name a few.

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