Date:16/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/16/stories/2008101654382000.htm

Sport

Three Indians storm into semifinals

Nandakumar Marar

Four more pugilists vie for last-four berths

Photo: Vivek Bendre

ON TOP: India’s Thokchom Nanao Singh (right) got the better of Thomas Stubbs of England in the 48kg lightfly weight category quarterfinal on Wednesday. —

PUNE: Sunil Sadhu hustled Zambian Peter Shula with feints, zoning in on the Zambian with rapid-fire combination punching for a place in the 51kg flyweight semifinals at the Commonwealth Youth Games boxing, winning 16-0 in the quarterfinal.

Thokchom Nanao Singh took one round to gauge the range against a taller opponent in Thomas Stubbs. He then negated the Englishman’s reach with slick footwork, raining blows to the head for a resounding 17-5 quarterfinal verdict in 48kg light flyweight category.

Aggressive

The two Indians were aggressive from the outset, leading in four rounds.

Sunil kept his guard down against a tense Shula, taunting the African to attack, while Nanao attacked in bursts, protecting his body and face when the awkward-looking Stubbs waded in, then rocking his rival with power-packed blows.

The school-children packing the stands at the boxing arena cheered after each point, goading Sunil and Nanao to continue their punishment.

Shula kept waving his left hand on Sunil’s face, more in hope as it turned out, as the compact Indian led 6-0, 9-0, 13-0 in the first three rounds.

The Indian stung the tentative Zambian with left hooks to the body in the first two rounds and chased Shula around the ring by the third.

Explosion of action

Nanao’s punching was an explosion of action from a defensive stance, using his left to stunning effect against Stubbs, whose bobbing head and long legs could not escape the southpaw’s blows.

The Indian led 3-1, 6-2 and 14-4 and by the time the bout ended, the tired Englishman was an awkward tangle of arms and legs.

Vankala Durga Rao became the third Indian to qualify for the semifinal phase, winning 11-3 in the 54kg featherweight quarterfinal.

India has four more boxers vying for semifinal places and the atmosphere at the boxing indoor stadium is festive. So Vikas Krishna (57kg), Neeraj Goyal (60kg), Virothu Shanthosh (64kg) and Balwinder Beniwal (75kg) will be backed by a sea of schoolchildren, rooting for home heroes.

The results:

Quarterfinals: 48kg: Thokchom Nanao Singh (Ind) bt Thomas Stubbs (Eng) on pts.; 51kg: Sunil Sadhu (Ind) bt Peter Shula (Zam) on pts.; Vankala Durga Rao (Ind) bt John Kris Jones (Wai) on pts.