3 Indian boxers storm into semis, assure medals in Asian Games

NAGOYA: Indian boxers Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal assured the country of three medals with dominant quarterfinal wins at the Asian Games here on Sunday, while Sachin Siwach's campaign ended in the last eight stage.

Parveen defeated world championships silver medallist Navbakhor Khamidova of Uzbekistan by a 5-0 margin to move into the women's 65kg semifinals.

Narender (+90kg) added another medal to his bronze from the previous edition after forcing the referee to stop his quarterfinal against Thailand's Adthapong Saengtep in less than two minutes.

The Indian super heavyweight unleashed a barrage of heavy blows on his Thai opponent, forcing the referee to give Saengtep three standing counts before stopping the contest.

Ankush, who won Commonwealth Games gold last month in Glasgow, notched a 5-0 unanimous decision win over Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov in the men's 80kg quarterfinal.

It was, however, the end of the road for Commonwealth Games champion Sachin, who went down 0-5 to local favourite Shunsuke Kitamoto of Japan in the men's 60kg quarterfinal.

Parveen vs Khamidova

It was the Haryana boxer's first bout of the ongoing edition as she had received a walkover in the previous round, but Parveen showed no signs of rust, expertly landing a flurry of combination punches on Khamidova.

"I'm feeling very good. My coaches made a plan for how to fight. I managed the distance well and focused on counter-punching. That was our strategy for the bout," she said after the win.

Parveen's bronze medal from the previous edition was taken away after the International Testing Agency (ITA) suspended her for 22 months for a whereabouts failure.

Since returning from her suspension late last year, Parveen has moved up from 57kg to 65kg. She was one of only three boxers who failed to finish on the podium in last month's Commonwealth Games.

"I'm getting my confidence back. Being away from your sport for so long makes you doubt yourself and wonder how you'll perform in the future.

"But now I feel confident again and want to achieve even more than what I lost during that time away," she added.

Ankush dominates Salimov

Making his Asian Games debut, Ankush put up a dominant display to outclass Salimov and book his place in the semifinals.

"In the first two rounds I boxed at long range, and I had already won those two rounds. After that the opponent was just passing the time," Ankush said.

"There was no difficulty at all. I am not satisfied with my performance. I have already secured a medal. But it doesn't matter because I am looking ahead," he added.

The Haryana boxer started strongly, landing clean singles, including a straight left and a right hook, to keep Salimov on the back foot. The Tajik tried to counter, but his punches lacked the accuracy and impact to trouble Ankush, who took the opening round on all five cards.

Ankush maintained the pressure in the second round, continuing to attack and landing a steady stream of punches. Salimov tried to close the distance and find openings on the counter, but Ankush was quick to respond and largely kept control of the exchanges.

The Indian also showed good composure as the round progressed, refusing to get drawn into unnecessary exchanges and picking his moments to attack. He again won the round on all five cards.

With a comfortable lead heading into the final round, Ankush conserved energy while keeping Salimov at bay. The Tajik attempted to force the pace and landed a few punches, but Ankush had already done enough to secure the outcome.

The Indian comfortably closed out a 5-0 victory to become one of India's three medal winners on the day.