Vijender first Indian to reach semi-finals in World Boxing Championships

MILAN - Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh of India sealed a historic first for India at the World Boxing Championships here by advancing to the semi-finals of the 75-kg category with a thumping 12-4 win over Derevyanchenko Sergiy of Ukraine.

Vijender’s win Wednesday assures the country of at least a bronze medal in the elite event, in which India has never won a medal before.

The 23-year-old, who also won India’s first boxing medal at Beijing Olympics last year, was the country’s only hope in the tournament after all the other boxers fell by the wayside.

Dinesh Kumar in the 81-kg category was the second Indian boxer to advance to the quarter-finals, but lost 3-5 after the referee stopped the contest against Russian Beterbiev Artur wednesday.

Later Vijender entered the ring and lifted the pall of gloom from the Indian contingent with a power-packed performance.

Vijender’s confidence has soared high after the Beijing Olympics. He was out in the first bout at the Chicago World Championships two years back, but Wednesday he proved too strong for Derevyanchenko, a bronze medallist from the last edition.

It is a wonderful feeling and a big honour for me to break two barriers for India in boxing in successive years. First it was the bronze medal at Beijing Olympics and now the first ever medal for the country at the World Boxing Championships. I am so happy to achieve these two feats,” he said after the bout.

Vijender used the advantage of his taller frame against Derevyanchenko. The Indian had a measure of his opponent in the first round that ended with scores tied at 1-1. In the second round, Vijender got an early lead of two points and was at 4-2 when the referee handed the Indian a warning for ‘holding’, and that levelled the score at 4-4. But Vijender counterattacked and finished the second round with a lead of 6-4.

Vijender came out strong in the final round, punching the Ukrainian at will and making it a one-sided contest to win 12-4.

In the semifinals Friday, Vijender is pitted against Atoev Abbos of Uzbekistan who defeated Buga Konstantin of Germany 4-3.

Vijender, however, would enter the ring once again with confidence as he has defeated Abbos, the gold medallist in 2007, at the Asian Championships at Zhuhai two months ago.

“Every bout is different and there is pressure to perform. But I have learnt to deal with pressure and it brings the best out of me,” he said.

National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was upbeat with Vijender’s performance at the World Championships.

It is a fantastic feeling. Now that a medal at this World Championships is assured for Vijender, our endeavour will be to win the gold.