National boxing championships: Siwach, Prasad get off to great starts

Mandeep Jangra makes successful return to lower weight category.

SSCB boxer P.L. Prasad (right) with his coach S.K. Rana.

Looking to establish themselves at the senior level, former World youth and junior champion Sachin Siwach and former World youth bronze medallist P.L. Prasad began their campaign in the National championships by recording fine victories at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) here on Sunday.

Siwach prevailed over Manoj Kumar of Punjab despite the latter's rough tactics, while Prasad thwarted a brave Rahul Rajput of Gujarat in 52kg bouts.

Siwach used his long reach and straight shots to foil the shorter Manoj's attempts to hold and head-butt.

Manoj, who dropped his teeth guard in the second round and got a warning for head-butting in the third, could not stop Siwach from getting a unanimous decision. “I was disheartened after being ignored for the Asian Games without a trial. However, I have moved ahead,” said Siwach.

Services boxer Prasad, a gold medallist in 2015, has recovered fully from a shoulder injury.

Boxing at his home venue, Prasad employed his superb footwork and effective left jabs to beat a lesser known Rajput, who stood up boldly and gave his best despite receiving some lusty blows to his face, with a 5-0 margin.

“I am feeling stronger now with the help of my coach S.N. Rana,” said 23-year-old Prasad.

Former Asian championships and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Mandeep Jangra celebrated his return from 75kg to 69kg with a facile 5-0 win over newcomer Vijendra Singh of Rajasthan.

Important results:

49kg: Pankaj Saini (AIP) bt Lakshmana M. Moorthy (TN) 5-0; Deepak (SSCB) bt Gopal Hoge (Mah) 5-0; Deepak Kumar (Kar) bt G.K. Sahani (Nag) RSC-R2; Pawan Singh (RSPB) bt Vipin Kumar (Chd) 5-0.

52kg: Ahmed Mansoor (Chd) bt Raja Simha (Kar) 5-0; Krushanvir Singh (DD) bt Aditya Kumar (Bih) 3-2; P. Appala Raju (AP) bt Pawan Arya (Utk) 4-1; E. Shanmugapriyan (TN) bt Sanjeev Kumar (JK) 5-0; Ananta Chopade (Mah) bt Savio Michael (Tel) 5-0.

64kg: Dalvir Tomar (SSCB) bt Raj Kumar Pramanik (Jha) 5-0; Rohit Tokas (RSPB) bt Bittu Kanwal (Utk) 5-0; M. Srinivasa (AP) bt A.K. Sharma (Man) 5-0; Chander Mohan (HP) bt Amandeep Singh (Pun) 4-1; Jimil Thomas (Ker) bt B. Nandan (Kar) 5-0.

69kg: Gagandeep (UP) bt Tilak Budha (Meg) 3-2; Jayesh Desai (Guj) bt Mohd. Qayamuddin (Tel) 4-0; Duryodhan Singh Negi (SSCB) bt M. Prabagaran (Pud) RSC-R1; Mohd. Rahil (Mah) bt S. Sajith (Ker) 5-0.