Boxing World Championships: Debutant Akash Kumar secures India’s first medal in Belgrade

By PTI

BELGRADE: Debutant Akash Kumar (54kg) secured India’s first medal at the ongoing AIBA World Men’s Boxing Championships here on Tuesday after advancing to the semifinals with a superb win over former Olympic silver-medallist Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela.

The 21-year-old Akash, who is a reigning national champion, prevailed 5-0 in a fabulous performance during which his punching and showmanship were simply outstanding.

The fearless youngster scored on counter-attacks with a non-existent guard and taunted his opponent, all this while staying out of his range with terrific pace and footwork.

He lost his mother to a lung infection in September and competed in the national championships unaware of the tragedy.

Rivas had originally won a bronze in the Rio 2016 Olympics but his medal was upgraded to silver after the original second place finisher failed a dope test.

Later this evening, five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will square off against Turkey’s Kerem Oezmen in the quarterfinals along with three other Indians.

Narender Berwal (+92kg) will go up against Azerbaijan’s Mahammad Abdullayev, while Nishant Dev (71kg) will take on Russia’s Vadim Musaev.

Reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg), who was a quarterfinalist in the event’s last edition, will face Italian Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine.

The gold winners at the showpiece will walk away with a prize money of USD 100,000.

The silver medallists are to be given USD 50,000, and both bronze-medallists will be awarded USD 25,000 each.

The total prize purse stands at a whopping USD 2.6 million.

India are being represented by its reigning national champions across weight categories.