CWG: Three Indians in boxing finals, Naman settles for bronze
The fast-rising trio of Amit Panghal, Gaurav Solanki, and Manish Kaushik notched up contrasting victories to enter the finals but teenager Naman Tanwar settled for a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games boxing competition in Gold Coast on Friday. Manish, competing in the lightweight 60kg category, edged past Northern Ireland's James McGivern in a closely-contested bout to emerge 4-1 victorious.
Coach told me to focus on my opponent's mistakes: Manish
The 22-year-old, who claimed gold medal at the Asian Games test event, was at the receiving end of some clean hitting by McGivern but pulled off just enough to get the judges' nod. "I will be fighting the Aussie (Harry Garside who has qualified for the final). Coach has told me to focus on my opponent's mistakes and deliver," Manish said after the bout.
I don't do bronze medals: McGivern
Manish's opponent, meanwhile, seemed livid at the decision. "The bronze medal can stay in Australia, I don't do bronze medals," McGivern said after leaving the ring. In the flyweight 52kg category, Gaurav got the better of Sri Lanka's M Ishan Bandara, overcoming a sluggish start, which included being at the receiving end of two eight counts in the first round itself.
I'm preparing to take the gold: Gaurav
Talking about his fight, Gaurav said, "Sometimes in boxing, these things happen, but by the second-round I felt much more in control." "I have a good team behind me and I'm preparing to take the gold," said the Games debutant, who will square off Northern Ireland's Brendan Irvine. In contrast, Amit had an easy outing against Uganda's Juma Miiro, dominating the light flyweight 49kg-semifinal.
Naman lost to crowd favorite Jason Whateley
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Naman lost to crowd favorite Jason Whateley in the heavyweight 91kg category. This was Naman's biggest performance since the bronze medal claimed at the Youth World Championships.
