World Boxing Championships: Akhil, Suranjoy ease into Round 2

Suranjoy Singh and Akhil Kumar notched up comprehensive victories to enter the second round of their respective weight categories as Indian boxers completed a second successive all-win day in the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Suranjoy (52kg) pummelled Hungary's Dobradi Zsolt 24-8, while Akhil (56kg), also a former CWG gold-medallist, defeated Slovakia's Filip Barak 16-8 in his opening bout of the first Olympic qualifying event.

Suranjoy next faces ninth-seeded Mongolian Nyambayar Tugstsogt on October 2. Tugstsogt, a silver-medallist at the previous edition of the event, defeated Bulgaria's Stefan Ivano 22-15 in his opening bout.

Akhil, on the other hand, will square off against fourth seed John Nevin of Ireland on October 3. Nevin, a bronze-medallist at the 2009 World Championships in Milan and an ex-European champion, got a bye in the opening round.

Suranjoy opened the proceedings for India today and the 'tempo boxer' gave a perfect start. The Manipuri led from the first round itself, finishing the opening three minutes 6-4 ahead.

He went on the rampage in the second round, notching up 11 points against his opponent's one to take firm control of the proceedings. The final round was a mere formality as Suranjoy added seven points to his tally to register a comprehensive win.

"The scoreline doesn't show the kind of aggression Suranjoy came face to face in the ring. But he applied his mind and countered aggression with left uppercuts and hooks," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said from Baku.

"His rival made him run around a lot but Suranjoy's fitness and guts that helped him win. It is a very good win and will actually help him get into the rhythm for the coming rounds," Sandhu said.

Suranjoy will have revenge on mind when he takes on Tugstsogt in the next round, as the Mongolian had beaten him by just a point, that too on countback, in the opening round of the previous World Championships.

"It's an unpredictable sport. Suranjoy was actually leading in that bout before he lost on countback. Hopefully he will set the record straight this time," said Sandhu.

Up next in the evening session was Akhil and the experienced Haryana boxer, who has been battling injuries and poor form, ensured that India ended the day just the way it had started.

Leading 6-3 in the opening round, the attacking boxer, who likes to keep his guard perilously low, notched up four more points to make it 10-5 in the next three minutes. The final round score was similar to the opening round as Akhil registered a comfortable win.

Tomorrow, Asian Games silver-medallist Dinesh Kumar is the lone Indian in action, taking on Deepak Maharjn of Nepal in the light heavy weight 81kg category opening bout.