Brijesh, Aryan among seven Indians to enter finals at Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships

Astana (Kazakhstan): Brijesh Tamta and Aryan alongside five other Indian boxers entered the finals of the youth men’s category at the ASBC Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships 2024, here on Friday.

Beginning the proceedings for India, Brijesh defeated Mongolia’s Taalaibek Iasur in the 48kg category with a convincing 5-0 score. Following a similar suit, Rahul Kundu (75kg) and Aryan (92kg) outclassed China’s Kanji Bayi Ersi and Kyrgyzstan's Alybaev Tynystan with identical unanimous decisions.

Sagar Jakhar (60kg), on the other hand, forced a Referee Stop the Contest (RSC) win in the final round over Kyrgyzstan's Sadirov Dilerbek. Aryan (51kg), Yashwardhan Singh (63.5kg) and Priyanshu (71kg) further extended India’s winning run with split decision verdicts.

Meanwhile, Sumit (67kg) and Sahil (80kg) signed off with bronze medals after going down 0-5 against Kazakhstan’s Sabyrkhan Torekhan and Kyrgyzstan's Zakirov Mukhammadaziz. The Indian youth contingent has secured 22 medals, including 12 in the women’s category, at the prestigious tournament.

Later on Friday night, Lakshay Rathi (92+ kg) and the reigning junior world champions Nisha (52kg) and Akansha (70kg) will fight for a place in the final along with 10 other Indian youth boxers. On Thursday night, Dhruv Singh (80kg), Guddi (48kg) and Poonam (57kg) made their way into the last-four stage of the U-22 category.

On Saturday, Olympics-bound Preeti (54kg) and reigning Youth World Champion Vishvanath Suresh (48kg) will lead the charge for India in the U-22 semifinals along with 17 other boxers.

Muskan (75kg) and Alfiya Pathan (81kg) have received byes in their respective U-22 semi-finals.

The tournament has witnessed high-voltage action with 390-plus boxers from more than 24 countries, including strong boxing nations such as China, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan fighting for the medals across 25 weight categories.

The Youth and U-22 categories finals will be played on Monday and Tuesday respectively.