Asian boxing: 3 Indians in semis, assured of medals (Lead)

Dubai, May 26 (IANS) Amit Panghal (52kg), Varinder (60kg), and Vikas Krishan (69kg) on Wednesday entered the semi-finals at the Asian Boxing Championships here, and assured India of three medals.Krishan, 29, beat Iran's Moselm Maghsoudi Mal Amir 4-1 in the quarter-finals, and will next face reigning Asian Games champion Baturov Bobo Usmon of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals.In the men's 60kg, Varinder scored a 5-0 win over Samuel Dela Cruz of the Philippines to move into the semi-finals.Earlier in the day, Olympic Games-bound boxer Panghal had defeated Kharkhuu Enkhmandakh of Mongolia 3-2 in the men's 52 kg quarter-finals.Panghal, the world silver medallist and defending champion, made a cautious start, but shifted gears as the match progressed.On the other hand, the Mongolian boxer was aggressive from the word go and kept pace with Panghal throughout the nail-biting contest. But it was Panghal's tactical brilliance that enabled him to edge past Enkhmandakh.Ashish Kumar (75kg) will be seen in action late on Wednesday evening.In the women's section, six-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) will be in action in the semi-finals on Thursday.The Indian women's team has entered the semi-finals in almost all the weight categories, including 60kg and 54kg.
--IANSnns/qma