Boxam meet: Manish Kaushik, Mohammad Hussamuddin make it to quarter-finals

Indian boxers Mohammad Hussamuddin and Manish Kaushik won their respective preliminary rounds at the Boxam international boxing tournament in Spain on Tuesday.

The result ensured that all 14 members of the Indian boxing contingent will feature in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Valencia, Spain.

Manish Kaushik, a 2019 World Championship bronze medallist, beat Spain’s Redouan Ammari Abdellaoui in the 63kg category by unanimous decision.

The 25-year-old Manish, who often ducked out of Abdellaoui’s hooks, jabbed at the Spaniard and landed a few punches with his left. The Indian’s solid defence also meant Abdellaoui’s uppercuts failed to connect. Manish's efforts gave him a 5-0 victory.

Manish will take on two-time ASBC Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist Sufiullin Zakir of Kazakhstan in the quarter-final on Thursday

Earlier, Mohammad Hussamuddin, a 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, beat Joan Manuel Torres Valdez by 4-1 split decision in the 57kg category.

Hussamuddin went on the attack early, occasionally swarming his opponent and using his reach to good effect. The 27-year-old Indian from Telangana was largely in control, mostly swerving away from what Torres could throw at him.

Towards the end, Torres gathered steam and managed to land a few punches consistently in the second and third rounds but it didn’t prove to be enough in the end. Hassamuddin will face Italy’s Simone Spada next.

All nine boxers who qualified for the Tokyo Games are participating at the Boxam meet. It will mark the return of Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom to the ring after a year.