Akash and Nishant in pre-quarterfinals of IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships

India’s Akash Sangwan (67kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships after winning their bouts here on Saturday. Akash dominated from the start against China’s Fu Mingke and won 5-0 unanimous decision. Mingke had no answer to Akash’s pace and the Indian boxer was able to evade his opponent’s punches continuously. Akash will take on Kazakhstan’s Dulat Bekbaev in the pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday. On the other hand, in the middleweight category, Nishant ousted Lee Seungmin of South Korea.

Nishant, who had outclassed world championship bronze medalist Sarkhan Aliyev of Azerbaijan in the previous round, displayed his technical prowess to win 5-0 against Sangmin. Nishant will next face Fokaha Nidal of Palestine on Tuesday. On Sunday, four Indian boxers Deepak (51kg), Mohd Hussamuddin (57kg), Sumit (75kg) and Narendra (over 92kg) will enter the ring.