New Delhi:
Dinesh Kumar (81kg) became the first Indian pugilist to make the quarterfinals after he out-punched Romanian Costantin Bejenaru in his third round bout but it was curtains for Jai Bhagwan (60kg) at the World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy on Monday.
Dinesh beat his rival 19-7 to set up a tough clash against Russian Artur Beterbiev, a silver medallist in the previous World Championships in 2007.
However, Asian silver medallist Jai's campaign came to an end after a 3-9 loss to German Eugen Burhard in the pre-quarters.
Dinesh was clinical against a short but spunky opponent, who troubled the Indian with some wild swings in the opening round. But Dinesh soon took control and after closing the first round 3-2, he decimated his rival in the two rounds, picking eight points in each round.
"I fought from long range to start with and scored mostly through left-straights and uppercuts to the body. He (his opponent) was quite good but I didn't have to struggle much because he was shorter," Dinesh said from Milan.
"My next bout is obviously a tough one but I will give it my all and hopefully pull off an upset," he added.
But it was disappointment for Jai who trailed by three points in the opening round. The gap widened as the bout progressed and the Indian lost 3-9.
"I am very disappointed. This loss is a shocking one for me because I tried everything. I didn't expect it to be so low-scoring. It's heartbreaking but there is always a next time," Jai said.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said the German's tight defence proved hard to break.
"Burhard had a shell guard and though Jai tried breaking it with upper-cuts, he just couldn't score," he said. Tomorrow, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh (75kg) will take on Canadian Steve Rolls in his pre-quarterfinals.
Dinesh beat his rival 19-7 to set up a tough clash against Russian Artur Beterbiev, a silver medallist in the previous World Championships in 2007.
However, Asian silver medallist Jai's campaign came to an end after a 3-9 loss to German Eugen Burhard in the pre-quarters.
Dinesh was clinical against a short but spunky opponent, who troubled the Indian with some wild swings in the opening round. But Dinesh soon took control and after closing the first round 3-2, he decimated his rival in the two rounds, picking eight points in each round.
"I fought from long range to start with and scored mostly through left-straights and uppercuts to the body. He (his opponent) was quite good but I didn't have to struggle much because he was shorter," Dinesh said from Milan.
"My next bout is obviously a tough one but I will give it my all and hopefully pull off an upset," he added.
But it was disappointment for Jai who trailed by three points in the opening round. The gap widened as the bout progressed and the Indian lost 3-9.
"I am very disappointed. This loss is a shocking one for me because I tried everything. I didn't expect it to be so low-scoring. It's heartbreaking but there is always a next time," Jai said.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said the German's tight defence proved hard to break.
"Burhard had a shell guard and though Jai tried breaking it with upper-cuts, he just couldn't score," he said. Tomorrow, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh (75kg) will take on Canadian Steve Rolls in his pre-quarterfinals.
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