Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) assured India of at least a bronze medal at the Thailand International Tournament by advancing to the semi-finals in Bangkok on Tuesday.
Kachari, who won a gold at the India Open earlier this year, defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Huong 5-0 to make it the medal rounds. In the men’s draw, Ashish Kumar (69kg) entered the quarter-finals after easing past Croat Petar Cetinic 5-0 in his round of 16 bout.
In the last Indian bout of the day, Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) also advanced to the quarter-finals after out-punching Botswana’s George Molwantwa 5-0.
On Monday, Asian Championships silver-medallist Deepak Singh (49kg) and former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) were among seven Indian boxers to enter the quarter-finals of the event.
Former India Open gold-medallist Manisha Moun (57kg), Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Kumar (75kg), Strandja Cup silver-medallist Manju Rani (48kg) and India Open silver medallist Brijesh Yadav (81kg) were the other five Indians who booked a place in the last eight.
Neeraj and Dinesh shine in President’s Cup
At the ongoing President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo in Indonesia, Neeraj Swami (49kg) and Dinesh Dagar (69kg) assured themselves of a medal after making their way into the semi-finals. Neeraj was made to work hard by Indonesia’s Kali Mario whom he edged 3-2 in a split verdict.
Dinesh had no such problems and was flawless in his one-sided 5-0 victory over Nickolas Terry of Australia. Six-time World Championships gold medallist Mary Kom leads the 10-member Indian squad at this prestigious tournament, which will continue till July 28.