Akash, Nishant in World Boxing last-16

TASHKENT: Indian pugilists Akash Sangwan (67kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with comfortable wins in the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships here on Saturday. Akash defeated Fu Mingke of China 5-0 in a Round-of-32 match. The Indian was quicker than Fu right from the start and landed some heavy blows on his opponent. Akash played from a distance and evaded Fu’s punches throughout the bout. The last round saw a desperate attempt from the Chinese to mount a comeback but Akash comfortably dealt with him and won 5-0 via unanimous decision. In a Light middleweight Round-of 32-bout, Nishant got the better of South Korea’s Lee Sangmin 5-0. The Indian showed his technical versatility as he played the patient game in the first round and gauged the strategy of his opponent while landing enough punches to make a winning start. The last two rounds saw both exchange some heavy blows, with Nishant the more accurate of the two.