New Delhi:
Asian silver medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and nine-time national champion Dilbag Singh assured India of two more boxing medals but defending champion Akhil Kumar made a shock exit in the Commonwealth Games by advancing to the semifinals on Sunday.
Jai, a Commonwealth Championship gold-medallist, blanked Waheed Sogbamu of Nigeria 10-0, while Dilbag (69 kg) thrashed Botswana's Moabi Mothiba 11-3 in while Akhil Kumar bowed out after losing to Olympic bronze-medallist Bruno Julie of Mauritius in the 56 kg quarterfinals.
The two boxers joined Amandeep Singh (49kg) and Suranjoy Singh (52kg), who won their quarterfinal bouts on Saturday, in assuring themselves of their maiden CWG medals.
"A medal here would be life-changing for me especially if it ends up being a gold medal. I would get fame and there would be financial benefits as well," said an elated Jai, who had almost given up boxing before Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh motivated him to return to the camp in 2008.
"I dedicate this medal to Vijender because he was the one who motivated me," said the former national champion, who is a close friend and room-mate of Vijender.
The 25-year-old said Akhil's loss to Julie had upset him.
"When I came to know that Akhil bhai has lost, I became a bit upset because I think he fought well, I didn't see anything lacking in him. My opponent seemed a bit tough to handle in the first round but once my punches began to connect, I gained in confidence," he said.
The 29-year-old Dilbag, whose name had a resonance only in the national circles till now, relied on closed guard to deny his rival any scoring opportunities and counter attacked for most part of the bout to enter the medal round of the biggest tournament of his career.
"Whatever the colour of the medal, it would be the biggest of my career. The massive turnout at the Talkatora did put some pressure on me but once I got into the ring and found my rhythm, I could get the result. Mothiba seemed to be a tough rival but my coaches had told me to keep a guard and I did just that. I scored mostly through right hooks," he said.
However, it was heartbreak for another 29-year-old in Akhil who lost 5-7 to Julie after a see-saw battle.
Ironically, Akhil had beaten the 33-year-old Julie in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games finals before Julie went on to pick up his country's first-ever medalist in the Beijing Olympics when he won the bronze.
Akhil was the first Indian to take the ring on Sunday and after an exhausting pre-quarterfinal win over European silver-medallist Iain Weaver of England last night, the Indian seemed tired.
Both the boxers were tied 1-1 after the opening round but Akhil began to lose the grip over the fight in the second round when Julie took a crucial one-point lead to make it 3-2 in his favour.
Julie then managed to connect on counter-punching and wrapped up the tense proceedings in his favour in the final three minutes.
"A loss is a loss, I don't have anything to say. I had beaten this same guy in the 2006 CWG finals, he must have done something right to win today," said the feisty Haryana-boxer.
"I gave my best and don't think I could have done anything better. This is the way I fight," he added when asked whether his natural style of keeping a low guard cost him the bout.