Amit Panghal, Vikas Krishan progress as India set for record medal haul at Asian Boxing Championships

Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian boxers Amit Panghal and Vikas Krishan booked a spot in the semi-final in their respective categories of the Asian Boxing Championships 2021 in Dubai on Wednesday.

Three out of five Indian boxers moved to the semi-finals on the day. India are now assured of 15 medals at the meet - their highest-ever at any Asian championship - surpassing the 13 they achieved in the 2019 edition.

Panghal, the reigning Asian champion in the 52kg division, started the day with a hard-fought win over Mongolia’s Kharkhuu Enkhmandakh.

The Indian was quick on his feet and maintained a safe distance in all three rounds to combat Enkhmandakh’s offensive tactics. The two boxers exchanged blows throughout the match but it was Panghal’s counters that proved decisive.

After matching punch for punch in the opening round, Panghal landed several counter-punches in the second and third, with one hook even dislodging Enkhmandakh's mouth guard. The Mongolian had his moments but ultimately Panghal stepped out of the ring victorious by a 3-2 split verdict.

It was the second-straight win for Panghal over Enkhmandakh. The two had previously met at the Asian Olympic boxing qualifiers in Jordan last year.

With this victory, defending champion Panghal confirmed his third successive Asian championships medal after gold in 2019 and bronze in 2017.

Amit Panghal will now take on Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the semi-final, whom he beat in the 2019 world championships semis.

Later, Tokyo-bound Olympian Vikas Krishan (69kg) edged past Iran’s Moslem Maghsoudi Amiri by a 4-1 split verdict while lightweight boxer Varinder Singh defeated Philippines' Jere Samuel De by unanimous decision.

Vikas will face the top seed and reigning Asian Games and Asian championships gold medallist Baturov Bobo Usmon of Uzbekistan and Varinder Singh will square off against Iran's Daniyal Shahbakhsh in their respective semi-finals.

Olympic-bound Ashish Kumar, however, lost to Kazakhstan’s Abilkhan Amankul, a world championship silver medallist, by a 3-2 split decision in the 75kg division. Narender (+91kg) too lost, going down 5-0 to Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev, a two-time world championships silver medallist.

Ten Indian women boxers including six-time world champion MC Mary Kom will be in action in the semi-finals on Thursday.

India sent a 19-member team, including seven Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian boxers, to the Asian Boxing Championships where 150 boxers from 17 countries are participating.