 Usaith Yazmin celebrates his victory in the quarter-finals |
Kagenthini Loganathan, a talented pugilist from Vavuniya, clinched the first bronze medal for Sri Lanka at the ASBC Asian Under-22 and Youth Championships being held at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday.
Kagenthini produced a plucky performance against a taller Indian southpaw in the Under-22 Women 57kg semi-final despite the bout being stopped midway in the final round in favour of the hard- hitting Nancy.
On a day in which four of the five Sri Lankans who entered the ring lost, Kagenthini despite featuring in a losing cause stood out as did Mohammed Usaith Yazmin who battled his way into last four to raise the host nation’s medal tally to 19. Sri Lanka entered a 35-member squad in this championship, with the luck of the draw assuring them at least 16 medals before the opening bell rang.
Warnakulasooriya and Jayathissa won their quarter-final contests on Tuesday to advance to the medal round of the competition.
Much was expected from Vimarshana Heshan Jayasinghe, an outstanding product of St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy, in the Under-22 Men 67kg clash against Saudi Arabia’s Esmail Al Qassimi. The Sri Lankan came out swinging wildly with round-house punches but Esmail displayed technical excellence to weather the early storm and score with precision jabs. Jayasinghe had to endure two standing ‘eight’ in quick succession in the first round as the stylish Saudi boxer held sway in the second round as well. A desperate Jayasinghe remembered that his jab was a good weapon in the final round but it was too little too late for the Esmail to be denied a unanimous points verdict.
Malith Bandara, 18, found the power and skill of his 20-year-old Kazak rival Agazhan Kadyr too much to stomach as he cowered in passive defence resulting in two ‘eight’ counts in the first round before his corner mercifully threw in the towel in a 71kg bout.
One of Sri Lanka’s brightest medal prospects 20-year-old Mohammed Usaith Yazmin, Sri Lanka’s Middle (75kg) national champion prevailed over Saudi Arabia’s Nayif Al Mowalad to win a unanimous points decision. After a cautious opening round, the gangly Sri Lankan southpaw opened up nailing his opponent with left uppercuts and hooks. Nayif was deducted a point in the second round for keeping his head down constantly during exchanges. The bout for the most part was a scrappy duel as they wrestled for supremacy.
A portly Malsha Keshan Sandeepa Bandara (86kg) looked out of his depth against New Zealand’s Viney Roman who peppered him with calculated blows while the Sri Lankan swung blindly. Viney forced a standing ‘eight’ count with a stun blow in the second round, resulting in the Sri Lankan corner abandoning the bout after just one minute.
In the Indo-Lanka Women’s duel, Kagenthini displayed sound technique and control to score with one-two jabs against a lanky Indian southpaw Nancy. The Sri Lankan won the opening round despite enduring a standing ‘eight’ count as the Indian got the measure of her rival during latter stages.
Kagenthini did not let up her attacks throwing three-punch combinations but had no answer when Nancy unleashed a barrage of blows covering passively in defence. Nancy also displayed tactical awareness to sting Kagenthini with precise powerful left jabs.
However, she did not disgrace herself emerging as worthy medal winner although the referee stopped the contest midway in the final round after Kagenthini received a third standing ‘eight’ count.
Two Sri Lankans will feature in today’s quarter-finals: Sarmin Gafoor Mohamed Azhar (Youth Men 67kg) against Tajikistan’s Honow Muhammad Sultan and Shashikala Nanayakkara (Youth Women 60kg) against Kyrgyzstan’s Asylbek Kyzy Adelia.
Results
(Quarter-finals): Under-22 Men: Orozbekov Almaz (Kyrgyzstan) beat Makhkamov Dovud (Tajikistan) WP 5:0, 67kg
Anarbayev Bakhtiyar (Kazakhstan) beat Mohd Farid Muhammad Ariff Aiman (Malaysia) WP 5:0, Esmail Al Qassimi (Saudi Arabia) beat Ambarapola Gedara Vimarshana Heshan Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka) WP 5:0, 71kg Murodjon Ashuraliev (Tajikistan) beat Majed Issa (Saudi Arabia) WP 5:0, Agazhan Kadyr (Kazakhstan) beat Kande Gedara Mudiyanselage Malith Bandara (Sri Lanka) ABD R1, 75kg Yazmin Mohammed Usaith (Sri Lanka) beat Nayif Al Mowalad (Saudi Arabia) WP 5:0, 86kg Roman Viney (New Zealand) beat Malsha Keshan Sandeepa Bandara (Sri Lanka) ABD R2,
(Youth semi-finals): Women: 57kg Nancy Nancy (IBA-India) beat Kagenthini Loganathan (Sri Lanka) RSC R3. (Quarter-finals): 60kg Anar Tursynbek (Kazakhstan) beat Shivani Shivani (IBA-India) WP 5:0, (Semi-finals): 66kg Uldana Taubay (Kazakhstan) beat Thi Tuyet Tran (Vietnam) RSC R2.
