Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
The World Championships bronze medallist Manish Kaushik (63Kg) and Mohammed Husamuddin (57kg) chalked out easy victories over their rivals to storm into the quarter finals of the Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain.
Kaushik made an impressive comeback in the ring as he outpunched Spanish opponent Raddouane Ammari 5-0 on the opening day of the tournament .
Armyman Mohammed Husamuddin (57kg) also made his way into the last eight with a comfortable 4-1 win over local boy Juan Manuel Torres.
The 25-year-old Haryana boxer couldn’t compete in the ring since Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in March last year due to injuries and is making a return after more than a year’s break.
He will take on two-time ASBC Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist Kazakhstan boxer Sufiullin Zakir in the last-8 round on Thursday while the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Hassamuddin will face Italy’s Simone Spada. Zakir beat Abdelhaq Nadir of Morocco 3-1 in the preliminary round match.
The second day of the tournament will see six Indian women boxers Mary Kom (51kg), Jasmine and Manisha Moun (57kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) competing in the quarter-finals.
A 14-member Indian contingent (eight men and six women), including nine Olympic qualified and other top boxers, is taking part at the 35th edition of the tournament where boxers from 17 countries, including top boxing nations like Russia, USA, Italy, Kazakhstan and Spain, are participating.