World Boxing Championships| Kavinder Bisht advances to pre-quarters

Asian silver-medallist and the fifth-seeded Indian Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a hard-fought win over China’s Chena Zhihao in the World Men’s Boxing Championships at Ekaterinberg, Russia, on Sunday. 

Bisht left his rival with a bloodied face before the judges ruled 3-2 in his favour after an exhausting bout during which neither of the boxers managed to connect many impactful punches.

The 26-year-old Indian Air Force man used his pace and endurance to get the edge over his opponent. Quarterfinalist in the 2017 Hamburg edition, Bisht is one of the strongest contenders to win a medal this time around.

Earlier, second seed and Asian champion Amit Panghal of the 52kg category and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik of the 63kg category advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after claiming dominating wins in their respective second-round bouts. Panghal out-punched Chinese Taipei's Tu Po-Wei, while Kaushik also dominated The Netherlands' Enrico Lacruz as the duo clinched identical 5-0 triumphs.

The world championship was supposed to be an Olympic qualifier but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped Olympic status from the troubled International Boxing Association (AIBA) and will organize qualifying and final tournaments for the 2020 Tokyo Games themselves which start with the Asian qualifiers in February.