Sports

Elite Men's National Boxing Championships 2023: Sagar Ahlawat, Sachin Siwach Advance

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sagar Ahlawat and World Youth champion Sachin Siwach dominated the tournament. Sagar will play Satish Kumar, while Sachin will face Roshan Saini in the round of 16 on Tuesday

File image of Boxer Sagar Ahlawat
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Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sagar and World Youth champion Sachin packed a punch as they advanced in the Men's National Boxing Championships in Shillong on Monday. (More Boxing News)

Railways pugilist in the 92-plus category, Sagar, winner of silver at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, hardly broke a sweat on way to vanquishing Uttarakhand's Shubham Singh with the referee stopping the contest in round one. Sagar will take on Services' Satish Kumar in a round-of-16 match on Tuesday.

Services' Sachin, the 2021 World Youth gold medallist, was on a roll in the 57kg class from the opening round itself against Punjab's Vishal Kumar. His relentless, power-packed punches were too strong for Vishal to handle. Sachin comfortably finished the bout with a unanimous 5-0 win.

He will face Rajasthan's Roshan Saini in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

Reigning World Youth champion in 63.5kg category Vanshaj, representing Services, also dominated the bout against Ashish of All India Police (AIP).

The youngster showcased his technical superiority by giving his opponent no chance of a comeback and sealed the match with a 5-0 win. Vanshaj will be up against Uttar Pradesh's Ratandeep Sharma in the round of 16. Three-time national champion Varinder Singh (60kg), representing Railways, also moved into the round of 16 with a 5-0 verdict over Maharashtra's Vishal Nupe.

Varinder will take on Lokesh Khichi of Rajasthan on Tuesday in a round-of-16 clash.

A total of over 350 boxers across 13 weight categories are participating in the championships.