Hussamuddin gives India winning start at Asian Boxing Championships

The boxer is one one step away from medal.

India’s Mohammad Hussamuddin began India's campaign on a winning note at the 2021 ASBC Asian Boxing Championships as he defeated Makhmud Sabyrkhan in Dubai on Monday.

The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist made a cautious start against the Kazakhstan boxer. However, with a swift movement and counter attacking display the Indian held an edge over his opponent and completed a 5-0 victory to progress into the quarter-finals. Hussamuddin will have a strong challenge in the last-8 match from the top-seed and reigning world champion Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov of Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Later tonight, on the opening day of the Championships, two more Indian pugilists Shiva Thapa (64kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) will be seen in action in their respective opening round matches.

The World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur and three other Indian pugilists will look to confirm medals for the country as they will fight in the quarter-finals on the second day at the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai.

Sakshi (54kg), Jasmine (57kg) and Sanjeet (91) are the other Indians who will be in action in the last-8 stage of their respective categories at the prestigious event which is jointly hosted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and UAE Boxing Federation.

The Olympic-bound boxer Simranjit will square up against Uzbekistan’s Raykhona Kodirova in the women’s 60kg quarter-final bout of the Asian Boxing Championships. Two-time youth world champion Sakshi will take on Ruhafzo Haqazarova of Tajikistan. In the women’s featherweight category Jasmine, who recently had a glorious maiden international outing at the Boxam Tournament where she clinched the silver medal, will be up against Mongolian boxer Oyuntsetseg Yesugen.

In the men’s section, Sanjeet, who received a bye in the first round, will face a challenge from Jakhon Qurbonov of Tajikistan. Shiva Thapa (64kg) will also be seen competing in a last-8 round match on Tuesday if he makes progress.

The on-going Championships, which marks a return of international boxing in Asia post Covid-19 pandemic, has been witnessing the presence of 150 pugilists from 17 counties. It includes strong boxing nations such as India, Uzbekistan, Philippines and Kazakhstan. India’s best-ever show at the Asian Championship came in the last edition in 2019 in Bangkok where they secured an unprecedented 13 medals including two gold.

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