World Boxing Championships Semifinals LIVE: Akash Kumar settles for bronze, becomes 7th male boxer to win medal at World Championships

World Boxing Championships LIVE – India Semifinals World Boxing LIVE: Akash Kumar settled for the bronze medal at the World Boxing Championships in Belgrade. Kumar became just the seventh male pugilist to win a medal at the World Championships for India. The 20-year-old went down to 19-year-old Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan, a three-time Asian gold-medallist. Follow LIVE updates on InsideSport.in and LIVE streaming on SONY LIV

World Boxing Championships Semifinals LIVE: Akash Kumar settles for bronze, becomes 7th male boxer to win medal at World Championships

Bantamweight (54kg)- Akash Kumar (IND) vs Makhmud Sabyrkhan (KAZ)

The 21-year-old Akash lost 0-5 to end India’s campaign in the marquee competition, where Akash became only the seventh Indian male boxer to secure a medal. He also claimed a prize money of $25,000. The Indian started superbly but Sabyrkhan got his measure in a matter of seconds, scoring primarily with his fantastic right crosses to slow down Akash after the early burst.

The 19-year-old Kazakh, who is the reigning national champion of his country, was the less exuberant of the two but was clinical in his execution, not letting slip any chances at scoring off counter-attacks. Sabyrkhan clinched the opening round unanimously and maintained the lead in the second round as well even though Akash gave a much better account of himself by managing to trouble the Kazakh with his jabs.

𝙁𝘼𝙉𝙏𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙄𝘾 7️⃣! 🔥

2️⃣0️⃣ Years old- #AkashKumar becomes the 7️⃣th 🇮🇳 male boxer to win a medal at the World Boxing Championships. 🤩

Congratulations, champ! 🇮🇳💪

We’re proud of you.🔥 🔝 #aibawchs2021 #PunchMeinHaiDum pic.twitter.com/xTZx1oi1DY

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) November 4, 2021

World Boxing Championships Semifinals LIVE: Akash Kumar settles for bronze, becomes 7th male boxer to win medal at World Championships

However, Sabyrkhan was not to be fazed by Akash’s sporadic shots. He was just too accurate for Akash. Despite the loss, the Haryana-lad, who hails from Bhiwani, can be proud of the fantastic performance in his maiden senior international competition. Akash had upstaged former Olympic silver-medallist Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela in the quarterfinals.

A product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, the Services boxer lost his mother to a lung infection in September and competed in the national championships unaware of the tragedy. His father died more than a decade back after initiating him to boxing and his brother is in jail since 2017 in connection with a murder case.

In all, five Indians made the quarterfinals but four of them, including 2015 bronze-winner Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) lost in the quarterfinal stage. India had secured an unprecedented silver through Amit Panghal in the event’s previous edition, while Manish Kaushik had claimed a bronze.

World Boxing Championships Semifinals LIVE: Akash Kumar settles for bronze, becomes 7th male boxer to win medal at World Championships

Indian male boxers to win medals at World Championships

Vijender Singh, Bronze (Milan,2009)
Vikas Krishan, Bronze (Baku, 2011)
Shiva Thapa, Bronze (Doha 2015)
Gaurav Bidhuri, Bronze (Hamburg, 2017)
Amit Panghal, Silver, and Manish Kaushik, Bronze (Yekaterinburg, 2019)
Akash Kumar, Bronze (Belgrade 2021)*

World Boxing Championships LIVE- Akash Kumar secures medal:

Akash Kumar settled for bronze after a a 5-0 loss to Sabyrkhan
Akash Kumar has secured the first medal for India at Men’s World Championships.
He stunned Rio Olympics silver medallist Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela to beat him unanimously in the Quarterfinals.
With a 5-0 result, he has confirmed at least a BRONZE medal at the top-flight boxing event.
The fearless youngster scored on counter-attacks with a non-existent guard and taunted his opponent, all this while staying out of his range with terrific pace and footwork.
He is known to have an aura in a boxing ring. His eyes light up when his opposition is on the ropes and tries to put unrelenting pressure on his rival.

Rivas had originally won a bronze in the Rio 2016 Olympics but his medal was upgraded to silver after the original second-place finisher failed a dope test.

𝙎𝙋𝙀𝘾𝙏𝘼𝘾𝙐𝙇𝘼𝙍 🤩💥#AkashKumar (54 kg) secures 1st medal for 🇮🇳 at the #MensWorldChampionships after he stunned the Rio olympics 🥈 medalist 🇻🇪’s Yoel Finol to beat him unanimously in the QF 💪🏻

Go for 🥇 young man! 👊🏻#PunchMeinHaiDum #boxing #aibawchs2021 pic.twitter.com/fk6GPMipVk

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) November 2, 2021

A product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, the Services boxer lost his mother to a lung infection in September and competed in the national championships unaware of the tragedy.

The world championships is his maiden senior international tournament, which makes the performance so far all the more special.

His father died more than a decade back after initiating him to boxing and his brother is in jail since 2017 in connection with a murder case but determined not to be defined by his difficult circumstances.

He lost his mother of a lung infection after a viral fever in September during his National Championships in Bellary. His uncle Bhawar kept the news away from him and it was only when returned home with Gold that he realised her mother had gone.

“I dedicate this medal to my late mother and father and my coaches. I competed in such a big tournament for the first time in my life and I feel so proud to have done well,” Akash said.

“His performance has earned him a lot of respect from his opponents. For a debutant, he showed tremendous confidence against boxers who were far more experienced,” added India’s High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva while talking to PTI.

Akash and his elder brother Suraj grew up watching their father Rajbir—a state-level wrestler- in Akharas. Once Vijender Singh won India’s first boxing medal in 2008, Ranjir enrolled his sons at an academy but passed away later that year.

His elder brother has won multiple medals for Haryana and the junior national championships 2012.

AIBA Men’s Boxing Championships: After Akash Kumar and Narender, Sanjeet, Nishant storm into quarter-finals

Prize Money Prize money will be awarded in each category as follows:

The gold medallists of each category will receive $100,000 while silver and bronze medallists will be given USD 50,000 and USD 25,000 respectively.

Alongside an enormous prize pool of USD 2.6 million, AIBA will also award the winners with beautifully designed medals, made of solid gold and silver respectively, and belts to commemorate their accomplishments.

India’s previous medal winners at the world championships are Vijender Singh (Bronze, 2009), Vikas Krishan (Bronze, 2011), Thapa (Bronze, 2015), Gaurav Bidhuri (Bronze, 2017), Amit Panghal (Silver, 2019) and Manish Kaushik (Bronze, 2019).

Where to Watch World Boxing Championships LIVE stream?

You can watch live action on SONY Sports Network and OTT-platform SONY LIV

List of medals won by India