Sachin makes winning start to Boxing Worlds campaign

TASHKENT: Sachin Siwach (54kg) made a winning start to his maiden World Championships campaign while two other Indian boxers bowed out of the showpiece event here on Monday.

The 2021 World Youth Championships winner Sachin showcased his technical prowess to register a 5-0 unanimous decision against Serghei Novac of Moldova and cruise to the bantam weight pre-quarterfinals. It was curtains for Govind Sahani (48kg) and Naveen Kumar (92kg), with both boxers losing by unanimous verdicts.

Sachin took charge of the proceedings from the word go as he relentlessly attacked Novac in the Round-of-32 bout. Using his height advantage and long reach, the 23-year-old relied on a combination of punches to clinch the first round.

The second round was not different as Sachin landed a flurry of punches, the most impressive being a combination of a straight jab, left hook and right hook. His defence was as strong as his attack and he danced around the ring, ducking his opponent’s punches.

After the first two rounds were ruled in his favour, Sachin did not hold his punches back in the final three minutes. He continued pummelling the hapless Novac with a range of punches, including the upper cut, to record a comprehensive win.

He will face the 2021 World Championships silver medallist Makhmud Sabyrkhan from Kazakhstan for a place in the quarter-finals. Govind went down to top seed Sakhil Alakhverdovi of Georgia in a fast-paced bout. Naveen, who was up against Enmanuel Reyes, was outplayed by the Spaniard.

Sachin Siwach registered a 5-0 unanimous decision against Serghei Novac of Moldova and cruised to the bantam weight pre-quarterfinals