Gaurav, Manish in final; Sachin, Naman falter
Pune, November 1
World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) advanced to the final but former youth world champion Sachin Siwach (52kg) settled for a bronze medal on the penultimate day of the senior men’s National Boxing Championships here today. Bidhuri, representing the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), defeated Tamil Nadu’s R Madhan 5-0 to make the final but his teammate Siwach, making his debut at the Nationals, lost to Services Sports Control Board’s (SSCB) PL Prasad.
Other prominent boxers to enter the final included Commonwealth Games silver medallist Manish Kaushik (SSCB), who defeated Tamil Nadu’s M Moovendran in the 60kg category semis. Another strong Railways contender, Rohit Tokas (64kg), entered the final after his rival, Andhra Pradesh’s M Srinivasa, threw in the towel in the very first round of the bout.
In the 69kg category, CWG silver medallist Mandeep Jangra (Haryana) signed off with a bronze after going down 1-4 to RSPB’s Dinesh Dagar. In another exciting bout, India Open gold medallist Sanjeet (SSCB) defeated CWG bronze medallist Naman Tanwar in the heavyweight (91kg) division semifinals. The Services boxer won 3-2. — PTI
