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Here's a ring of hope |
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By: ASHWIN FERRO IN BEIJING |
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Date:
2008-08-17 |
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Place: BEIJING |
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| Vijender Kumar (left) combats Thailand's Angkan Chomphuphuang during their Middleweight (75 kg) boxing bout in Beijing on Saturday AFP | VIJENDER Kumar kept India on course for not one or two but three medals in boxing when he hammered Thailand's Angkhan Chomphuphuang 13-6 in the pre quarter-final of the 75kg Middleweight category at the Workers Gymnasium here on Saturday, a few hours after Jitender Kumar slammed Uzbekistan's Tulashboy Doniyorov by the same margin in the 51kg Flyweight category.
Akhil our hero
Both later said that they were emulating their mentor, 27-year-old senior boxer Akhil Kumar, who beat world champion Sergey Vodopyanov the previous day and made the last eight.
Vijender and Jitender believe India can win three medals for sure, given that they have only one race to win (quarter-final), as the losing semi-finalists will receive bronze medals anyway. "We are glad that we are part of history here," Vijender said after Jitender's bout.
Both boxers began their fights in identical fashion â getting off the blocks quickly and then settling into the pace of the match once they had got the lead.
While Chomphuphuang had no reply to Vijender's power-packed right hands, Jitender was quick on his feet for Doniyorov.
Both Indian fighters had identical Round One scores of 4:1. And even as Vijender followed it up with a series of few quick upper cuts to dominate Round Two (4-0), Jitender set his punches loose again in Round Three (6-3). Another highlight of that round was the Russian kissing the mat as he attempted to take a swing at Jitender, who calmly ducked under it.
"Akhil had fought Doniyorov earlier and beaten him and so he had told me what to expect from him and exactly how to counter him," explained Jitender.
Akhil, meanwhile, spent some eager moments in the stands, as he yelled out instructions to both boxers.
"I knew they could both do it. We three can do it now," he signed off.
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