Indian boxer Amit Panghal registered a split decision victory to enter the final of the men's light flyweight (49 kilogram) category at the 18th Asian Games here on Friday.
Amit saw off a tough challenge from Carlo Paalam of the Philippines to clinch a 3-2 victory in the semi-finals.
The Haryana pugilist is expected to face an extremely difficult task in the final as he will be up against reigning Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan.
In the other semi-final, Dusmatov thrashed Wu Zhonglin of China 5-0 in a unanimous verdict.
Vikas Krishan, the only other Indian boxer who managed to reach the semi-finals, settled for bronze after conceeding a walkout.
Vikas, who competes in the middleweight (75kg) category, was scheduled to take on Abilkhan Amankul of Kazakhstan for a place in the final.
Amit was off to a slow start against Carlo as both boxers were a bit cautious during the opening round. Both boxers employed a lower guard and were equally matched.
The second round picked up a bit of tempo as the two boxers tried to up the ante. Amit managed to land a few scoring punches as the second round drew to a close.
That prompted Carlo to employ a higher guard in the third and final round. As a result, although the Indian dominated the round, he was unable to land too many scoring punches.
However, Amit's performance was enough to give him a victory by a split decision.
--IANS
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