Promising youngsters surface in junior national boxing

Chandigarh  :    The fancied boxers in both men and women sections moved up a rung on the opening day of the Junior National Boxing Championships here on Wednesday.

The day, which saw as many as 58 bouts in the men's six categories and 27 bouts in the women's four classes, went along expected lines, interspersed with some one-sided fights.

The day began with a 46 kg bout being abandoned in the second round when S. Kalarasan of Tamil Nadu forced Rajasthan's Harsh Chandra Meena's coach to throw in the towel after his ward received a solid pounding.

Kalarasan was severe from the start and sent down combination punches on his Rajasthan opponent who managed to withstand the first round. 

However, the second round proved to be his undoing and his coach judged the gravity of the situation to pull him out of contest before any major damage was caused.

With favourites having received byes in both sections sitting pretty awaiting the main draw, the boxers in preliminary rounds churned out some fantastic verdicts like the one between Daksh Chauhan of Chhattisgarh and Deepak of Chandigarh. 

The local lad was unlucky as he lost the 46 kg bout 2:3 in a neck and neck race, Chauhan clinching it in the last round. Karan Mehar of Uttarakhand too received a spilt (3:2) decision when he overcame a tough opponent in Lalmuankima from Mizoram.