World Boxing Championships: Hussamuddin advances to pre-quarters; Ashish bows out

Mohammad Hussamuddin continued his good run with another dominant performance as he progressed to the pre-quarterfinals

Tashkent: Asian and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) continued his good run with another dominant performance as he progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023 here on Friday.

In the Round of 32 bout, Hussamuddin took on China’s Lyu Ping and displayed his swift movement and intelligence to throw a combination of punches in the first round and gain momentum.

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After winning the first round unanimously, the southpaw from India upped the ante in the next and took the initiative to land heavy blows on his opponent while dodging Lyu’s punches. The Chinese boxer couldn’t match the speed and intensity of Hussamuddin and eventually lost the bout 5-0. He will next take on Russia’s Savvin Eduard in the pre-quarterfinal on Sunday.

On Friday, India suffered a setback as Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish went down against two-time Olympic Champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba in a Round of 32 bout.

Ashish went on the offensive in the first round but Arlen defended well and hit some heavy counter-punches to win the first round. The Indian boxer came back strongly in the second round and took the game to the opposition to win the round.

With everything to play for in the last round, both the boxers went neck-and-neck and landed fierce punches in what was an intensely-fought bout. Both the boxers showed a lot of heart and courage but the Cuban boxer won the bout 5-2 after bout review.

Later on Friday night, Naveen (92 kg) will take on Jeong Jae-min of South Korea.

On Saturday, two Indian boxers will be in action in the Round of 32 bouts in their respective categories. Akash (67kg) will face China’s Fu Mingke whereas Nishant Dev (71kg) will take on Korea’s Lee Sangmin.

The ongoing tournament is playing host to 538 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 107 countries.