Jai Bhagwan enter quarterfinals at Commonwealth boxing

Jai Bhagwan book a berth in the CWG quarterfinals after defeating Tanzania's Nasser Mafuru.

Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) became the fourth Indian boxer to book a berth in the Commonwealth Games quarterfinals after defeating Tanzania’s Nasser Mafuru 11-2 here on Friday.

Jai joined Amandeep Singh (49kg),Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Manoj Kumar,who won their pre-quarterfinal bouts yesterday,in the last-eight stage.

The lanky 24-year-old from Haryana found it hard to deal with an energetic Mafuru’s offence in the opening round but gradually sneaked ahead as the bout progressed.

Leading 3-1 in the opening round,Jai,a gold-medallist at this year’s Commonwealth Championships,defended stoutly and relied mostly on counter-punching to fetch the points.

With the home crowd egging him on,Jai gained in confidence even as Mafuru began to lose his cool.

In fact,the Tanzanian was cautioned for using his fist in the final round which only widened the margin of his defeat.

“My height worked to my advantage. His energy was remarkable and I had to be on my guard all the time to avoid getting hit,” said Jai.

Indian boxers are so far unbeaten in the competition.

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Later today,Olympic bronze medallist and world number one Vijender Singh (75kg),Commonwealth Championship gold-medallist Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) and nine-time national champion Dilbag Singh will be in action in their respective pre-quarterfinal bouts.