Men’s Boxing World C’ships: Mohammad Hussamuddin, Naveen Kumar advance to pre-quarters

Asian and Commonwealth games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) and Naveen kumar (92kg) progressed to the pre-quarter finals of the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Friday.

In the round of 32 bout, Hussamuddin was facing China’s Lyu Ping. The southpaw from India displayed his swift movement and intelligence to throw a combination of punches in the first round and gain momentum.

After winning the first round unanimously, Hussamuddin upped the ante in the next round and took the initiative to land heavy blows on his opponent while dodging Lyu’s punches. The Chinese boxer couldn’t match the speed and intensity of Hussamuddin and eventually lost the bout 5-0. He will next take on Russia’s Savvin Eduard in the pre-quarterfinal on Sunday.

Naveen Kumar (92kg) took on South Korea’s Lee Sangmin in the round of 32 bout. The lanky southpaw, who hails from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana used his long reach and height advantage to dominate all three rounds enroute a comfortable 5-0 win. He will square off against 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Enmanuel Reyes of Spain in the pre-quarterfinal.

Asian silver medallist Ashish was up against two-time Olympic Champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba in the round of 32 bout. Ashish went on the offensive in the first round but Arlen defended well and hit some heavy counter-punches on Ashish to win the first round. The Indian boxer came back strongly in the second round and took the game to the opposition to win the round.

With everything to play for in the last round, both the boxers went neck and neck and landed fierce punches in what was an intensly fought bout. Both the boxers showed a lot of heart and courage but the Cuban boxer won the bout 5-2 after bout review.

On Saturday, two Indian boxers will be in action in their round of 32 bout. Akash (67kg) will face China’s Fu Mingke whereas Nishant Dev (71kg) will take on Korea’s Lee Sangmin.

The ongoing tournament is witnessing the participation of 538 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 107 countries.