Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) defeated Russia’s Andrei Stotskii, while Akash Kumar (54kg) got a walkover to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the AIBA men’s boxing World championships on Friday.
Akash advanced after his German opponent Omar Salah Ibrahim fell ill and conceded a walkover. Akash will face Puerto Rico’s Pagan Caleb Tirado next.
“His opponent did not show up for the weigh-in this morning as he was sick. Something like what happened to us in Varinder Singh’s case. In that case, we suffered, today we gained,” India high performance director Santiago Nieva said.
Sanjeet put up quite a show in the 4-1 win over Stotskii. The Indian was the more aggressive, at least in the first two rounds. He even indulged in some gamesmanship, dropping his guard and taunting Stotskii on more than one occasion.
Late on Thursday, Akash Sangwan (67kg) recorded a 4-1 victory over German Daniel Krotter to also enter the pre-quarterfinals. The 21-year-old will square off against Cuban Kevin Brown.
On Saturday, five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will be in action alongside three other Indians.
The results:
92kg: Sanjeet bt Andrei Stotskii (Rus); 54kg: Akash Kumar w/o Omar Salah Ibrahim (Ger); 67kg: Akash Sangwan bt Daniel Krotter (Ger).
