Som Bahadur, Qamar Ali reach finals

Manchester:

There are more medals in store for India with two pugilists, Som Bahadur Pun and Mohammad Ali Qamar reaching the finals in their respective weight categories. But there was disappointment in the Indian camp when the country's biggest medal hope from boxing, Jitender Kumar, had to settle for bronze in the men's 75 kg category. Seeming out of sorts, Jitender lost 32 to 23 in the semi-finals to England's Steven Birch. But now the focus is on Som Bahadur Pun who will encounter Pakistan's Hyder Ali in the finals of the featherweight category and Mohammad Ali Qamar, who will meet England's Darren Langly in the final of the light flyweight class. While both have set their sights on gold, they know that they will walk away with at least a silver each. The 20 year old Pun is India's reigning national champion and was a quarter-finalist at the World Junior Championships held earlier this year. His opponent Hyder Ali boasts of winning a bronze in the last Asian Games and the experience of having participated in 2000 Sydney Olympics. India's Ali Qamar who beat Nigeria's Ajabe Taoreed 27-13 in the semi-finals will meet England's Darren Langly in Saturday's final.