Vishu, Tanu & Nikita enter final; Ashish, Anshul settle for bronze

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Junior woman boxer Vishu Rathee (48kg) made short work of Otgonbat Yesunkhuslen to enter the final of the ongoing Asian Youth and Junior Championships in Dubai on Thursday. Tanu (50kg) and Nikita Chand (60kg) also won their respective ties to march into the finals.

Soon after the sound of the bell, Vishu asserted her dominance by landing some big punches on Otgonbat. It was clear that the Mongolian had no answers as the referee gave her a standing count after 40-odd seconds. Soon after the bout resumed, Otgonbat was on the ropes again as Vishu continued to pile on the pressure on her with some accurate blows. Seeing the powerless Mongolian struggle, the referee stopped the contest soon after.

Tanu was also impressive, beating Nepal’s Swostika 5-0. Nikita matched Tanu to beat Tokhirova Mukhlisa of Uzbekistan 5-0.

In the boys’ section, Ashish (54kg) and Anshul (57kg) lost their respective semifinal bouts to settle for bronze medals.

Up against Uzbekistan’s Norkosimov Mironshokh, Ashish was involved in a tough exchange of punches early on. Both showed plenty of aggression, looking to dominate. Ashish was struggling to get an opening and was resorting to clenching in order to unsettle his rival. Despite Ashish’s tactics, Norkosimov was able to land some solid point-winning punches and unsettle the Indian instead. At the end of the round, it was clear that Norkosimov was leading.

In the second round, both boxers showed plenty of intent, trading some hefty blows. Both stood their ground and exchanged plenty of punches. Ashish seemed to be aware that he needed to use his big left more often and showed more urgency later. But the Uzbek showed good game sense to dance around the ring and keep Ashish’s threats at bay.

Ashish was visibly tired in the final round but despite that, he managed to trouble his opponent with some good strikes. Norkosimov kept his calm and did just about enough to get the victory. Though Ashish won the second and third rounds, Norkosimov’s total points from four judges out of five were more.

Immediately after this bout, the Indian camp suffered another setback with Anshul crashing out. Anshul, who had won his previous bout in barely 60 seconds or so, lost 0-5 against Bozorov Dalerjon of Uzbekistan.