Boxing, Strandja Memorial: Amit Panghal, Akash advance to quarter-final

The commonwealth games gold medallist Amit Panghal, National champion Akash and men’s National bronze medalist Abhimanyu put up a stellar show to move into the quarter-final of the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on Wednesday.

Amit (51kg) had Rudyk Maksym’s challenge to tackle as he eyed his place in the quarters. The experienced campaigner quickly got into his groove and his ability to efficiently get into the attacking position was on display throughout the bout.

The first two rounds were all about taking on the opponent, while in the third round, Amit employed his defensive tactics to frustrate his Ukrainian opponent and capitalize on his errors, advancing to the quarter-finals with a dominant 5-0 unanimous decision win. Amit will face Aldarkhishig Battulga of Mongolia on Friday.

Akash (71kg) was up against Traore Makan of France. Akash started slow but soon picked up the pace as he displayed swift movement and landed a flurry of punches, surprising his opponents and gaining a significant lead. The performance continued in the second round as Akash continued to be a dominant force in the bout.

Traore did make a comeback in the third round but Akash’s exploits in the first two rounds were enough to ensure him a 3-1 win...

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