Boxer Sumit storms into Thailand Open semifinals

Sumit (75kg) entered the semifinals of the Thailand Open with a comfortable win over Timur Nurseitov in Phuket, Thailand on Tuesday. Sumit, who received bye in the opening round, looked in good touch throughout the bout. He notched a 5-0 win against Kazakhstan's Nurseitov in the quarterfinal clash.

Sumit became the fourth Indian to enter the last four stage. Monika (48kg), Ashish Kumar (81kg) and Manisha (57kg) are already through to the semifinals. However, it was curtains for Gaurav Chauhan (91kg), who went down 1-4 to 2018 Youth Olympics champion Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. Six Indian pugilists will be seen in action on Wednesday. While Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg), Amit Panghal (52kg) and Rohit Mor (57kg) will play in their quarterfinal, Govind Sahani (48), Varinder Singh (60kg) and Ashish Kumar (81kg) will fight for a place in the finals. The tournament features 130 boxers, including 74 male and 56 females, from Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa. Gold medal winners will earn $2000, while silver and bronze winners will pocket USD 1000 and USD 500 respectively. The Indian contingent had won eight medals, including one gold, four silver and three bronze, in the last edition of the tournament, held in 2019.