Akash Sangwan, Nishant Dev keep it up at World Boxing Championships

Tashkent, May 6

Indian pugilists Akash Sangwan and Nishant Dev secured comfortable wins to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships here today.

Up against Fu Mingke of China in a Round of 32 match in the 67kg category, Akash took on the Chinese right from the start and landed some heavy blows.

He boxed from a distance and evaded Fu’s punches on numerous occasions throughout the bout. The last round saw a desperate attempt from the Chinese to mount a comeback but Akash comfortably dealt with him and won 5-0 via a unanimous decision.

He will take on Kazakhstan’s Dulat Bekbauov in the last-16 stage on Tuesday.

In a 71kg class bout in the Round of 32, Nishant squared off against South Korea’s Lee Sangmin. The Indian boxer, who had defeated world bronze medallist Sarkhan Aliyev of Azerbaijan in the previous round, showed his technical prowess. He was patient in the first round and had the measure of his opponent before finding openings at regular intervals to win it. The last two rounds saw both the pugilists exchange some heavy blows but Nishant was the more accurate of the two and secured a unanimous 5-0 win. The southpaw will be up against Palestine’s Foqahaa Nidal in the lst-16.