Pugilists make a mark

Take that! Gaurav Solanki made the final of the 52kg bout with a win over Ishan Vidanalange Bandara of Sri Lanka.

Take that! Gaurav Solanki made the final of the 52kg bout with a win over Ishan Vidanalange Bandara of Sri Lanka.   | Photo Credit: Mark Metcalfe

As many as six in finals

The Indian boxing contingent, with a haul of nine medals came up with yet another good showing at Oxenford studio here on Friday.

The country will be represented in as many as six finals over the next two days at the XXI Commonwealth Games.

The way it started, it looked as if it was going to be a clean sweep as Amit Panghal (49kg), Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Manish Kaushik (60kg) reached the title round of their respective categories, winning on points against Juma Miro (Uganda), Ishan Bandara Vidanalange (Sri Lanka) and James McGivern (Northern Ireland) in quick succession.

However, the winning streak rolled to a stop when Hussamuddin Mohammed (56kg), Manoj Kumar (69kg) and Naman Tanwar (91kg) fell by the wayside, losing out to Peter McGrail (England), Pat McCormark (England) and Jason Whateley (Australia).

The low morale, following these defeats, however was lifted as Vikas Krishan came off with a brilliant win, on points, against Northern Ireland’s Steven Donnelly in the 75kg category, and Satish Kumar was benefited by a favourable decision as his semifinal bout against Keddy Agnes (Seychelles) was abandoned midway through.