3 Indian boxers storm into semis, assure medals in Asian Games

Indian boxers Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal assured the country of three medals with dominant quarterfinal victories at the Asian Games here on Sunday, while Commonwealth Games champion Sachin Siwach exited in the last eight.

Parveen defeated world championships silver medallist Navbakhor Khamidova of Uzbekistan 5-0 to enter the women's 65kg semifinals.

Narender (+90kg) secured his second consecutive Asian Games medal after the referee stopped his quarterfinal against Thailand's Adthapong Saengtep in less than two minutes.

The Indian super heavyweight unleashed a barrage of punches and forced Saengtep to receive three standing counts before the contest was stopped.

Ankush, who won Commonwealth Games gold last month in Glasgow, also recorded a 5-0 unanimous decision win over Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov in the men's 80kg quarterfinal.

Sachin, however, lost 0-5 to local favourite Shunsuke Kitamoto of Japan in the men's 60kg quarterfinal.

Parveen returns with confidence

It was Parveen's first bout of the ongoing Asian Games after she received a walkover in the previous round. The Haryana boxer showed no signs of rust, landing a series of combinations against Khamidova.

"I'm feeling very good. My coaches made a plan for how to fight. I managed the distance well and focused on counter-punching. That was our strategy for the bout," she said after the win.

Parveen's bronze medal from the previous edition was taken away after the International Testing Agency suspended her for 22 months over a whereabouts failure.

After returning from her suspension late last year, Parveen moved up from 57kg to 65kg. She was also among only three Indian boxers who failed to win a medal at last month's Commonwealth Games.

"I'm getting my confidence back. Being away from your sport for so long makes you doubt yourself and wonder how you'll perform in the future.

"But now I feel confident again and want to achieve even more than what I lost during that time away," she said.

Ankush dominates Salimov

Making his Asian Games debut, Ankush produced a commanding performance against Salimov to book his place in the semifinals.

"In the first two rounds I boxed at long range, and I had already won those two rounds. After that the opponent was just passing the time," Ankush said.

"There was no difficulty at all. I am not satisfied with my performance. I have already secured a medal. But it doesn't matter because I am looking ahead," he added.

The Haryana boxer began strongly, landing clean punches, including a straight left and right hook, to keep Salimov on the back foot. The Tajik attempted to counter but struggled to find the accuracy and power to trouble Ankush, who took the opening round on all five judges' cards.

Ankush continued to apply pressure in the second round, attacking steadily while keeping control of the exchanges. Salimov tried to close the distance and create openings but Ankush responded quickly and again won the round unanimously.

With a comfortable lead going into the final round, Ankush conserved energy while keeping Salimov at bay. The Tajik tried to increase the pace and landed a few punches, but Ankush had done enough to secure the decision.

He closed out the bout with a 5-0 victory to become one of India's three boxers assured of medals on the day.