Published>Tue, Mar 16 10 03:17 PM
As they say in boxing, it is not the number of punches that fetches points, but their accuracy.
On Monday here at the Commonwealth Championships, Olympic medallist Vijender Kumar displayed this as well as a solid gameplan when he outclassed Tanzanian Selemani Kidunda in the semi-final and assured India of at least a silver medal.
The punches that the Indian threw were far fewer, but Vijender scored 10 times more than the Tanzanian before the referee stopped the contest in the third round after Kidunda suffered a head injury.
The Indian was leading 10-1 at that stage. On a day when all four Indians in fray registered victories to assure at least a silver each, Dinesh Kumar (81 kg) followed in Vijender's footsteps outclassing another Tanzanian Leonard Machichi and moved into the final.
M Suranjoy Singh's 4-0 victory over Welsh Andrew Selby in his semi-finals was like a stroll in the park while super heavyweight Paramjeet Samota's 5-2 win over Scot Ross Henderson was a stunner even for national coach Gurbax Sing Sandhu.
Kidunda failed to provide any challenge for Vijender, who almost used him as a punching bag in preparation for the final clash. As is his style, Vijender counter-attacked with straight punches and the trick worked giving him a 5-0 lead after the first By Shaghil Bilali in New Delhi round, and 8-0 after the second.
The Tanzanian also threw punches, but Vijender's footwork and technique were up to it.
Vijender scored points whenever he wanted. In the final round, it was the Tanzanian who scored his first and only point, but Vijender roared back with two points and took an unassailable 10-1 lead and when he pulled off a straight powerpunch on Kidunda's head, the referee immediately stopped the bout to declare the Indian victorious.
Vijender will face Frank Buglioni of England in the final on Wednesday. The victory provided Vijender a chance to break his gold medal jinx, after he clinched the yellow metal at the Chemistry Cup in Germany in May 2008.
"I am feeling excited because I am on the brink of claiming a gold after a long time. I know that the England boxer is good but I am sure I will beat him and break the gold jinx," said Vijender.
Dinesh took a lesson from teammate Akhil Kumar's defeat a day before. Akhil's strategy of using hooks and uppercuts excessively did not provide the desired results. Dinesh, also an expert in uppercuts and hooks, changed his style to straight punches against the Tanzanian, and the strategy worked wonders.
Dinesh used clever strategy to outwit his opponent. The Indian was defensive and scored one point conceding none in the opening round.
However, he changed tactics in the next round and stretched his lead to 6- 1. A jab and a long range right punch saw him moving to 8-1 in the final round, and an uppercut on Machihi's head led to an injury that prompted the referee to stop the bout.
Dinesh will face Callum Johnson of Scotland on in the final on Wednesday. Suranjoy, leading 4-0 after the second round against Selby, used a good mixture of attack and defence in the decisive round to make it to the final where he is pitted against Oliver Lavigi in the summit clash on Wednesday.
Paramjeet too changed his style from attack to defence against Henderson, who was taller and had a stronger build than the Indian. The change paid off when Indian overpowered the Scot to nail the biggest victory of his career. He will play Kiwi Joseph Parker in the final on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, India's Jai Bhagwan (60 kg) will take on Danny Phillips of England while Amandeep ( 49 kg) will be up against MFBM Redzuan of Malaysia in their semi- final bouts.
shaghil.bilali@mailtoday.in
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
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