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Neeraj (men's 75kg) and Ishan Kataria (men's 90+kg), Yatri Patel (women's 57kg), Priya (women's 60kg) registered convincing victories to reach the finals of their respective weight categories in the U22 Asian Boxing Championships 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday.
According to a release from BFI, Neeraj banked on his speed and counterattacks to defeat Kyeongho Bang of South Korea 5:0 to become the first Indian boxer to make it to the summit clash on Wednesday. Ishan Kataria then joined him in the final when he used his big frame and strong punches to dominate Chen Chen of China as the referee had to stop the contest in the third round as the Chinese was getting battered. Yatri Patel then became the first Indian women boxer to reach the final as she used the left-right combination punches to great effect to dominate Vietnam's Thi Nhung Quand to bag a 5:0 unanimous verdict in the women's 57kg semifinals. A few minutes later, Priya also came up with a dominating performance to overpower Uzbekistan's Odinakhon Ismoilova to reach the women's 60kg final. The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which are being held simultaneously, provides India's rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some Asia's toughest opponents. India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers -- 20 in each age group -- with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit. Among the four other semi-finalists in the morning session, Rockey Chaudhary was unlucky as the referee did not allow him to continue in the second round as he suffered cuts over both his eyebrows against Iran's Sam Estaki. Harsh (60kg) and Mayur (90kg) took the fight to their respective opponents but could not finish on the right side of the split verdict from the judges. Harsh went down 1:4 against Uzbekistan's Shohruh Abdumalikov while Mayur lost to Shakhzod Polvonov of the same country. Ankush, the other boxer in fray, went down 0:5 against Sanzhar-Ali Begaliyev of Kazakhstan. All the four boxers will bring home a bronze medal. In the evening session, Bhawna Sharma could not rekindle her quarterfinal form and went down 1:4 against Robiyakhon Bakhtiyorova of Uzbekistan in the women's 48kg weight category. Also finishing with the bronze medals were Parthavi Grewal (women's 60kg), Parnjal Yadav (women's 65kg) and Shruti (women's 75kg) after they lost their respective semi-final bouts. (ANI)
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