CWG: Boxers Amit, Naman ease into quarters

Indian boxers Amit Phangal and Naman Tanwar registered convincing victories to enter the quarter-finals of the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

Amit outplayed Tetteh Sulemanu of Ghana 5-0 in the men's light flyweight (49 kilogram) while Naman thrashed Tanzania's Haruna Mhando 5-0 in Heavyweight (91 kg) division in Round-of-16 actions at Oxenford Studios arena here.

During the bout between Amit and Sulemanu, the former started on a aggressive note, attacking the Indian boxer. Amit, on the other hand, continuously forced his opponent to the corner throughout the first round.

In the second round, Amit, playing with open guards, found his rhythm. In the process, he also hit a jab.

Towards the end, boxers exchanged some punched and the Ghanian forced Amit into the corner but Amit started counter-attacking and reversed it.

The third round saw a much intense battle between the two boxers but in the end Amit proved better than his opponent to clinch the issue by unanimous decision.

Earlier, Indian boxer Naman Tanwar started his campaign in the men's Heavyweight (91 kilogram) division with a convincing victory over Tanzania's Haruna Mhando.

Naman did face any real threat from his opponent as he cruised to a unanimous 5-0 victory at the Oxenford Studios arena here.

The Indian will next be up against Frank Masoe of Samoa in the quarter-finals.

The World Youth Championships bronze medallist employed an unorthodox style, keeping his guard down and using his reflexes to avoid his opponent's punches while hitting on the counter.

Naman dominated right from the start and forced the African into a standing count less than 30 seconds into the opening round with a stinging left hook.

He continued to dominate thereafter, using deft footwork, quick movements and his superior height to land punches from different angles and keep Mhando under pressure.

The Tanzanian had more conventional, defensive style and was forced on to the back foot for most of the bout.

--IANS

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