Gold for Solanki, Hussamuddin at German boxing tourney

The fast-rising Gaurav Solanki (52kg) notched up his second successive international gold medal, along with Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) as India ended a strong campaign with six medals at the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany today.

The Indian contingent picked up two gold, a silver and three bronze medals in all. The presence of powerhouse Cuba lent the competitive edge to the event's small draws, in which several boxers had to win just one bout to be assured of medals.

Solanki, gold-medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, pulled off a massive victory by edging past fancied Cuba's Jorge Alejandro Merencio in a draining contest.

CWG bronze-winner Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg), meanwhile, defeated former national champion Madan Lal in a rare all-Indian final at an away international tournament.

Both Solanki and Husammuddin are employed with the Indian Army.

The bronze medals were claimed by Commonwealth Games silver-winner Amit Panghal (49kg), another Army man, Dheeraj Rangi (64kg), and Narender (+91kg).

Amit had lost 0-5 to Cuba's Damian Arce Duarte, while Dheeraj had gone down 2-3 in a high-intensity contest against Jordan's Obada Alkasbeh.

Narender, on the other hand, was knocked out by American Richard Torrez in his last-four stage bout held late last night. Narender's semifinal contest lasted all of two minutes and 55 seconds before the decisive blow ended his campaign.