Santhosh,Jasveer assured of medals in President’s Cup

V Santhosh Kumar and Jasveer Ahlawat qualify for semifinals at President's Cup In Jakarta.

Indian boxers continued to pack a punch at the 21st President’s Cup with Asian Games gold0 medalist V Santhosh Kumar (64kg) and Jasveer Ahlawat (81kg) advancing to the semifinals in Jakarta,Indonesia on Wenesday.

Jasveer,a former national champion beat Iran’s Olympian boxer Mohammad Shourain 20-12 today,while Santhosh got the better of Japan’s Katsuaki Susa 15-7 late Tuesday night.

With this,the total number of medals assured for India has gone up to three after the 18-year-old Gaurav Bidhuri entered the semifinals of light fly weight 49kg division yesterday.

However,it was curtains for South Asian Games gold-medalist Chhote Lal Yadav who lost the bantam weight 56kg quarterfinals 13-14 to China’s Xu Bia Xiang after a thrilling contest.

“All the boxers fought really well. Jasveer was particularly impressive and even though Chhote lost his bout,he gave it his all. Santhosh is a proven performer and he did not disappoint,” said team’s coach Jagdeep Hooda.

Jasveer was locked 4-4 with Shourain in the opening three minutes before he took a slender one-point lead of 8-7 in the second round.

The final round belonged to the Indian,who said the bout left him completely exhausted. “I was drained because my opponent was such a hard-hitter. It was a tough one but in a way it is good as it prepares me for the next round,” said Jasveer,whose father was diagnosed with cancer just a few days before he left for tournament.

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“If I win a gold,I will dedicate it to my father. I will focus on his treatment after I return to India. It has been hard for me ever since I came to know of his illness and it even affected my training. But my senior Akhil Kumar played a huge role in keeping me motivated,” he added.

Santosh Harijan (52kg) and Lakhbir Singh (69kg) are the other two Indian quarterfinalists in the event.

Apart from Chhote,the other Indian boxer to sign off without a medal is 19-year-old Neeraj Goyat,who was competing in his maiden senior international tournament.