U22 Asian Boxing Championships: Sagar, Harsh register dominant wins to advance

BANGKOK: Sagar (men’s 55kg) and Harsh (men’s 60kg) registered dominant wins to advance to the next round of the U19 Asian Boxing Championships 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, according to a release from BFI.

Sagar was clearly the better boxer in all three rounds against Bhutan’s Tashi Yoezer, while Harsh played a tactically smart bout to beat China’s Jiabao Yuan in yet another mixed day for the Indian contingent.

The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships provide India’s rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia’s toughest opponents.

India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers — 20 in each age group — with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit.

Among the other Indians in fray on Saturday, Vishvanath Suresh took the fight to Uzbekistan’s Behruz Kholdorov but lost 3:2 in the men’s 50kg category, while Preet Malik went down 4:1 against Ilya Kalinin of Kazakhstan in the men’s 65kg category.

In women’s 51kg category, Devika Ghorpade lost 0:5 against Vietnam’s Thi Ngoc Tran Nyugen while Kartik Dalal went down by a similar margin against Philippines Brandon Soriano in the men’s 70kg bout.

Earlier, the Indian boxing contingent had a mixed day at the U19 Asian Boxing Championships 2025, which kicked off on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand, with Suman Kumari giving them a winning star, but three other boxers could not get the desired result despite putting up a strong fight against much stronger opponents.

The U19 Asian Boxing Championships provide India’s rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia’s toughest opponents. (ANI)