Boxer Vijender packs a punch after wrestlers win 4 silver

Star boxer Vijender Singh packed a punch while assuring himself of a medal in what proved to be a good outing for Indian pugilists after the country's wrestlers continued to excel winning four silver and a bronze on seventh day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games here today.

Satyawart Kadian (men's 97kg freestyle), Bajrang (men's 61kg), Lalita Sehrawat (women's 53kg) and Sakshi Malik (women's 58kg) won a silver each while Navjot Kaur bagged a bronze in women's 69kg.

In the ring, Vijender outclassed Trinidad and Tobago's Aaron Prince in men's 75kg category. The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist won 3-0 on points in an unanimous decision of the three judges.

The first round was a bit subdued with both the boxers trying to get a measure of each other. Vijender played a bit defensively and Prince attacked more.

One judge out of three gave 10-9 points to Finch while the other two gave in favour of Vijender with identical scores.

In the second round though, Vijender's flurry of punches landed on his opponent who was in difficulty to fend them off. A straight jab and then a right hook punch from Vijender rattled Prince. The tempo continued in the third round and Vijender won comfortably at the end.

For the wrestlers, it was a far cry from yesterday's three-gold burst but was still a creditable performance, as they swelled the overall tally in the sport to 10.

As many as four Indians entered the final and one made it to the bronze medal round through repechage but none could win a gold at the SECC wrestling arena.

There were high expectations from the grapplers after India won three gold, one silver and one bronze yesterday but they could not replicate that showing.

In boxing, experienced Laishram Sarita Devi and young Pinki Jangra reached the semifinals of the women's light (57-60kg) and 51kg respectively.

World No. 3 L Devendro Singh outclassed Aqeel Ahmed of Scotland to advance to the medal round and so was Mandeep Jangra.

Sarita Devi, the 32-year-old from Manipur, came from behind to outsmart Charlene Jones of Wales 3-1 in a hard-fought quarterfinal bout. She will next take on Mozambique's Maria Machongua in the semifinals on Friday.