Boxers Vikas, Amit enter Strandja Memorial finals

Sofia (Bulgaria) Feb 24 (IANS) Indian boxers Vikas Krishnan and Amit Phangal entered the finals of their respective weight categories at the Strandja Memorial Tournament here on Saturday.

Vikas had a fairly easy outing against Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan of China as he breezed to a comfortable win in the middleweight (75 kilogram) category.

The Asian Games gold medalist showered his combinations on Tanglatihan while keeping a safe distance when the Chinese launched his attacks.

The lanky Chinese pugilist fought hard but Vikas dodged his straight jabs and cruised to an easy victory after the completion of three rounds.

Earlier in the light flyweight (49kg) section Amit displayed resilience against Russia s Artysh Soyan as the latter came too close for comfort for the Indian.

Amit had a tough time landing his jabs and hooks. However India s high-performance director Santiago Nieva seemed to have spotted the Russian s weakness and fed Amit the right information at the end of second round.

The next round was all about how Amit used his nimble feet to turn the tables on his Russian opponent and adjusted swiftly to throw quick jabs and marched into the final.

--IANS
ajb/vd