3 more Indians in final; country set for big medal haul

New Delhi : World youth bronze-medallist Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) was among three Indian male boxers who advanced to the finals of the Asian Youth Championships in Dubai.

Chongtham defeated Tajikistan's Akarali Abdurakhivonzoda 5-0 on Friday night to make the summit clash. Joining him in the finals were Suresh Vishwanath (48kg) and Jaydeep Rawat (57kg). While, Vishwanath defeated Bahrain's Fadel Sayed 5-0, Rawat edged past Kyrgyzstan's Bekbol Murasbekov 3-2.

However, Lashu Yadav (70kg) in the women's draw and Deepak (75kg) signed off with bronze medals after semifinal losses. Yadav was beaten 0-5 by Kazakhstan's Gaukhar Shaibekova 0-5. Deepak, on the other hand, lost to Kazakhstan's Aliaskarov Bakbergen 1-4.

India's medal count has swelled past 35 in the event being conducted simultaneously for junior and youth boxers (both men and women). While 20 medals are secure for India in the youth competition, the junior event will yield 19 podium finishes.

In the youth women's section, 10 girls will be playing in the final. They are Nivedita (48kg), Tamanna (50kg), Simran (52kg), Neha (54kg), Preeti (57kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Khushi (63kg), Sneha (66kg), Khushi (75kg), Tanishbir (81kg). Meanwhile, Lashu Yadav (70kg) bagged the bronze medal.

All the final matches in the junior category will take place on Sunday and the youth finals will be played on Monday.

The draws at the event are considerably small following last-minute withdrawals due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions. More than 20 Indians were assured of medals on the day of draws itself because of the small size of the competition.

The gold medallists in the youth category will be awarded a prize money of USD 6,000, while silver and bronze medallists will claim USD 3,000 and USD 1,500 respectively. The junior champions will walk away with USD 4,000 for gold and USD 2,000 and 1,000 for silver and bronze medallists respectively.