Men’s World Boxing C’ships: Hussamuddin off to a winning start, Varinder Singh loses

Tashkent (Uzbekistan): India’s experienced campaigner and 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin put up a dazzling display as he a winning start in the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023, starting in style by registering a stellar victory in the first round on Monday.

In the 60kg category, Varinder Singh went down fighting against Mujibillo Tursunov of Uzbekistan and exited the competition after suffering a 0-5 defeat.

Playing from the Red corner, the two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Hussamuddin (57kg) made lightwork of Maced’nia’s Alen Rustemovski in the opening round with a dominating 5-0 win.

The Telangana-born pugilist made a cautious start to the bout but shifted gears superbly to assert his dominance over the Macedonian. Making use of his strength and high technical ability, Hussamuddin was able to land punches accurately and secure the victory with a unanimous decision.

In the next round, Hussamuddin will take on the winner of the bout between Lyu Pengyuan of China and Amzolele Dyeyi of South Africa.

On Tuesday, Tokyo Olympian and 2019 Asian Championships Ashish Chaudhary and debutant Harsh Choudhary will take to the ring for their respective tournament openers. Ashish (80kg) will square off against Meysam Gheshlaghi of Iran while Harsh (86kg) will face Billy McAllister of Australia.

BFI has fielded a 13-man contingent to compete at the ongoing event that is witnessing the participation of 538 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 107 countries.

So far, a total of seven Indian male pugilists have won medals at the World Boxing Championships and the country’s talented pugilists will be determined to increase that number at the current edition of the tournament.

Top boxers from all over the world are in the fray in the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023. The gold medallists will walk away with prize money of USD 200,000. The silver medallists are to be given USD 100,000, and both bronze medallists will be awarded USD 50,000 each.

–IANS