Belgrade: Debutante Akash Kumar (54kg) secured India’s first medal at the ongoing AIBA World Men’s Boxing Championships on Tuesday after reaching the semi-finals with a resounding win over the former Olympic silver medalist. Joel Phenol Rivas of Venezuela.
The 21-year-old Akash, who is a defending national champion, won 5-0 in a scintillating performance during which his punching and showmanship were simply outstanding.
The fearless youngster counter-attacked with a non-existent guard and taunted his opponent, all while staying out of his range with terrific pace and footwork.
The Services boxer, who is a product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, lost his mother to a lung infection in September and participated in the national championship, unaware of the tragedy.
His father died more than a decade after he made his boxing debut and his younger brother is in prison for a murder.
On Tuesday, Akash became only the seventh Indian male boxer to bag a World Championships medal and was also assured prize money of at least $25,000.
Rivas originally won a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, but his medal was changed to silver after the original second-place finisher failed a dope test.
Akash will face 19-year-old Makhmud Sabirkhan of Kazakhstan, who is a three-time Asian gold medalist at the youth level.
Later this evening, the five-time Asian medalist shiv thapa (63.5kg) will take on Turkey’s Kerem Ozmen along with three other Indians in the quarterfinals.
Thapa will aim to become the first Indian male boxer to win two medals at a world event, having won a bronze medal in the 2015 edition.
Narendra Berwal (+92kg) will take on Mohamed Abdullayev of Azerbaijan, while Nishant Devi (71kg) will face Russia’s Vadim Musaev.
Defending Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg), who was a quarterfinalist in the previous edition of this event, will face Italy’s Aziz Abbes Mohydin.
India’s previous medalists at the World Championships are Vijender Singh (Bronze, 2009), Vikas Krishan (Bronze, 2011), Thapa (Bronze, 2015), Gaurav Bidhuri (Bronze, 2017), Amit Panghal (Silver, 2019) and Manish Kaushik. . (Bronze, 2019).
The gold winners in the showpiece will walk away with prize money of $100,000.
The silver medalists are to be awarded $50,000, and both bronze medalists will be awarded $25,000. The total prize money is $2.6 million.
In the weight categories, India is represented by its current national champions.
The 21-year-old Akash, who is a defending national champion, won 5-0 in a scintillating performance during which his punching and showmanship were simply outstanding.
The fearless youngster counter-attacked with a non-existent guard and taunted his opponent, all while staying out of his range with terrific pace and footwork.
The Services boxer, who is a product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, lost his mother to a lung infection in September and participated in the national championship, unaware of the tragedy.
His father died more than a decade after he made his boxing debut and his younger brother is in prison for a murder.
On Tuesday, Akash became only the seventh Indian male boxer to bag a World Championships medal and was also assured prize money of at least $25,000.
Rivas originally won a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, but his medal was changed to silver after the original second-place finisher failed a dope test.
Akash will face 19-year-old Makhmud Sabirkhan of Kazakhstan, who is a three-time Asian gold medalist at the youth level.
Later this evening, the five-time Asian medalist shiv thapa (63.5kg) will take on Turkey’s Kerem Ozmen along with three other Indians in the quarterfinals.
Thapa will aim to become the first Indian male boxer to win two medals at a world event, having won a bronze medal in the 2015 edition.
Narendra Berwal (+92kg) will take on Mohamed Abdullayev of Azerbaijan, while Nishant Devi (71kg) will face Russia’s Vadim Musaev.
Defending Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg), who was a quarterfinalist in the previous edition of this event, will face Italy’s Aziz Abbes Mohydin.
India’s previous medalists at the World Championships are Vijender Singh (Bronze, 2009), Vikas Krishan (Bronze, 2011), Thapa (Bronze, 2015), Gaurav Bidhuri (Bronze, 2017), Amit Panghal (Silver, 2019) and Manish Kaushik. . (Bronze, 2019).
The gold winners in the showpiece will walk away with prize money of $100,000.
The silver medalists are to be awarded $50,000, and both bronze medalists will be awarded $25,000. The total prize money is $2.6 million.
In the weight categories, India is represented by its current national champions.
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