Rio Olympics: Boxer Vikas enters Middleweight quarters

Indian boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav defeated Onder Sipal of Turkey 3-0 to enter the quarter-finals of the men's Middleweight (75kg) category at the ongoing Rio Olympics here.

The Haryana boxer dominated all three rounds of the Round of 16 clash on Friday to clinch a unanimous decision with the judges scoring 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in his favour.

Vikas, who is just one win away from a medal, will now face Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan for a berth in the last four stage.

The Uzbek was quite impressive during his quarter-final bout, handing out some brutal punishment to Jason Daniel of Australia over three one-sided rounds to claim a unanimous 30-27, 30-26, 30-27 verdict.

 

Vikas dominated right from the start, scoring freely with his quick combinations and jabs. The 24-year-old also kept the Turk from landing too many punches with his excellent defence and fast reflexes.

Sipal seemed to be a bit out of his depth and copped a lot from punishment from the Indian as the judges awarded the first round 10-9, 10-9, 9-10 to Vikas.

The 2011 World Championships medallist dominated the second round as well with the judges ruling 10-9, 10-9, 10-9 in his favour.

A desperate Sipal tried to adapt a more aggressive approach in the third and final round, but Vikas still managed to get a 10-9, 9-10, 10-10 decision from the judges and wrap up the issue.

--IANS

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