JULLANG, 13 Jul: Arunachal Pradesh boxers dominated the ring on Thursday, confirming two bronze and at least four silver medals for the home side to match their feat with boxing powerhouse Haryana, even as eight pugilists from the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) stormed into the finals of the 5th Junior Boys National Championships being held at the Don Bosco College here.
Techi Jacky (46 kg), Gaykie Rie (52 kg), Nenthok Hodong (54 kg) and Tagio Liyak (57 kg) registered contrasting victories to march into the summit clashes of their respective weight categories, even as Loma Ring (50 kg) and Tara Sonia (60 kg) endured heartbreaking loses to eventually settle for the bronze medals.
With all eyes on the home boys, Jacky began the proceedings amid loud cheers from the motley crowd present at the venue, and lived up to the expectations when he recorded a victory over Telangana’s Md Abdul Wadi Omair by a resounding 5-0 UD.
Jacky used his agility and swift movements to great effect and unsettled the opponent in the very first round, and continued to dominate the proceedings throughout the next two rounds to sail into the final of the 46 kg pinweight category bout.
In the final, he will take on Uttarakhand’s Brijesh Tamta, who defeated Gujarat’s Aniket Mallah 5-0.
In the 52 kg light bantamweight semifinal, Gayki Rie wasn’t in the best of his elements against Haryana’s Dhruv, but despite that, he eventually managed to score a 4-1 split decision verdict in his favour. Rie will next face Sahil from the Board of the Services, who defeated Manipur’s Th Nilbir 5-0.
In the 54 kg bantamweight category, Hodong set up a title clash with Devang of the Services after getting the better of Assam’s Abhinash Das by a 3-2 split decision margin. Hodong had to work hard for his win as the Assamese lad matched him shot by shot before the Arunachal boxer gathered himself in the third and final round, thanks to the cheers from the crowd, to ensure a close finish.
Devang, on the other hand, registered a convincing 5-0 UD win over Sundry Yadav of Uttar Pradesh in the other semifinal contest.
Liyak cruised to the 57 kg featherweight category final with a commanding 5-0 victory over Chandigarh’s Arman. While the results may appear convincing, Liyak did admit after the bout that the Chandigarh lad was equally strong and managed to make contacts but it was the Arunachal boxer’s strong defence that helped him get over the line comfortably. In the final, Liyak will be up against Haryana’s Yogesh Dhanda, who recorded an easy 5-0 UD win over Andhra Pradesh’ Hemanth Jana Kumar Pappu.
Meanwhile, Manipur’s M Punshiba (60 kg), Mizoram’s Lalnunpuia (66 kg), Ladakh’s Villayat Ali (66 kg), Punjab’s Shriyansh (80 kg) and Himachal Pradesh’s Vendant Dhauta (80+ kg) were among the other finalists in their respective weight categories.
