Sumit advances into pre-quarters at the 2021 AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships

Sumit continued his impressive form and moved into the pre-quarterfinals after defeating Abdumalik Boltaev of Tajikistan in the 75kg round of 32 match at the 2021 AIBA Men’s Boxing Championships.

Sumit celebrates after his 5-0 win over Abdumalik Boltaev of Tajikistan in the round of 32 bout at Men's Boxing World Championships. (Image Credit: Twitter)
By Arnab Mukherji | Oct 30, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Indian boxer Sumit continued his impressive form and moved into the pre-quarterfinals, after defeating Abdumalik Boltaev of Tajikistan in the 75kg round of 32 match at the 2021 AIBA Men’s Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday. Sumit started the bout aggressively right from the first minute and dominated in a highly engaging and busy bout. Boltaev however tried to gauge Sumit’s strategy but the Indian played on the front foot, taking away the first two rounds comfortably from his southpaw opponent.

Boltaev fails to match the sharp footwork and work rate of Sumit

Trailing unanimously, Boltaev hit the aggressive mode in the third round but couldn’t match the sharp footwork and work rate of Sumit, who kept landing precise punches before securing a unanimous victory. In the Last-16 stage, Sumit will be up against Cuba’s Yoenlis Hernandez on Monday.

Later tonight, Sachin (80kg), Govind Sahani (48kg) and Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg) will be seen in action. Govind will play for a spot in the quarter-finals whereas 2015 edition’s bronze medallist Shiva and Sachin will play in the round of 32 stage. Earlier, during the matches played late on Friday night, debutant Nishant Dev made his way into the 71kg pre-quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory against Mauritius’s Merven Clair. Nishant will now square off against Mexico’s Alvarez Verde in the Last-16 round on Sunday.

Apart from Nishant, three more Indian boxers will play in the pre-quarterfinals stage on Sunday. The reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) will take on Georgia’s Giorgi Tchigladze while Akash Kumar (54kg), who received a walkover in the last round, and Narender (+92kg) will face Puerto Rico’s Caleb Tirado and Tajikistan’s Jakhon Qurbonov respectively.

Rohit Mor and Akash Sangwan progress into Last-16

Boxer Rohit Mor and Akash Sangwan made their way into the pre-quarterfinals at the 2021 AIBA Men’s Boxing Championships with convincing triumphs in Belgrade, Serbia. Continuing their impressive run in the tournament, both the youngsters displayed dominating show in their respective round-of-32 matches. While 20-year-old debutant Rohit outclassed Alen Rahmic of Bosnia and Herzegovina by unanimous margin in the featherweight category, Akash recorded a confident 4-1 victory against German pugilist Daniel Krotter in the 67kg category match played late on Thursday night.

This came after Narender provided India a winning start for the day by defeating Sierra Leone’s Mohamed Kendeh by RSC verdict in the +92kg round-of-32 match.

India’s Nishant Dev put up a brilliant performance to progress into the second round of the 71kg category. Making his debut at the world’s prestigious event, the Karnataka boxer looked in good touch against Laszlo Kozak as he hit the aggressive mode from the word go. The 20-year-old reigning national champion dominated his opponent from Hungary with fluent attack and sharp punches before winning the bout comprehensively by a unanimous margin. Sumit too was equally dominant during his 75kg opening round match against Jamaican boxer O’Neill Damon as he notched up an easy 5-0 win. On the other hand, Narender faced some stiff challenge from his Polish opponent Oskar Safaryan in the +92kg bout, however the Indian recorded a convincing 4-1 win.