Asian Games boxing: Paramjeet in semifinal, Chote Lal out

GUANGZHOU - Indian boxer Paramjeet Samota assured himself of a medal as he moved into the semifinal with a 9-4 win over South Korea’s Sungkeun Park in the men’s +91kg quarterfinal at the Asian Games here Thursday.

Samota won the first round 5-2 and came down heavily on Park in the second round, where he won four points while the South Korean bagged just two. Samota’s right hook nearly knocked out the South Korean and the referee had to stop the contest midway into the second round at the Foshan Gymnasium.

Samota got a first round bye in the nine-boxer +91kg competition. He will now face Zhang Zhilei of China in the semifinals slated for Nov 24.

Among other Indians in fray, Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Mandeep Singh (46-49kg) won their bouts while Chote Lal Yadav (56kg) made a first round exit.

Suranjoy, who defeated Thai Chatchai Butdee in the first round, won 8-6 against South Korea’s Jeusong in a closely contested pre-quarterfinal match. Suranjoy took a 4-1 lead after the second round, but found himself in a challenging position in the third round where the Korean bagged five points while Suranjoy managed four. In Saturday’s quarterfinal, Suranjoy will take on Isakov Shahriyor of Uzbekistan.

In the first round of 46-49kg, the referee had to stop the contest after the first round and declare Mandeep as the winner after the Indian took a 0-9 lead over Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Ahmed Alfaifi. Mandeep will face Pakistan’s Muhammed Waseem in the second round.

Yadav, who received a bye in the first round, lost to Japan’s Satoshi Shimuzu 7-4 in the pre-quarterfinal. Against a taller opponent, Yadav did well to take a 2-1 lead after the first round. The Japanse did well from counter attack and after taking a 5-4 lead after the second half displayed some solid defense.