Indian teenager Prayag Chauhan beat local boy Azat Ilyubayev in the lightweight category (60kg) final at the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan. The victory was doubly sweet for the Indian camp as it helped the team bag the third position in the overall team rankings. The Indian boxers finished the Asian meet with one gold medal and three bronze medals.
The 16-year-old displayed great maturity and understanding of the game. Together with his nimble mind, agile footwork and his brisk counter attacks, Chauhan makes for a lethal combination, one that can send the toughest of opponents packing.
Reigning sub-junior national champion Aditya Maan (66kg) also had to be content with a bronze medal performance from the Asian Championships. The 15 Year old boxer from J&K also went down to an Uzbek boxer; he lost to Merjanev Eldar on a unanimous decision by points in the round of four.
Pradeep (63kg) also ended the tournament with third position as he lost to Stolbovskiy Vladislav of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals, after getting a bye in the round of eight. Junior national coach MS Dhaka was pleased with the Indian boxers finishing third in the championship, but expressed that he was expecting at least a couple of gold medals from his lads.
PTI
