Manama (Bahrain), Oct 28 (PTI) Indian pugilists packed a punch as six of them sailed into the final to assure the country at least half-a-dozen medals, while several shuttlers also advanced in the Youth Asian Games here on Tuesday.
India's 15-year-old Khushi Chand secured a place in the girls' 46kg gold-medal bout by defeating Mongolia's Altanzul Altangadas 5-0. She will met China's Chen Fang-yu in the title bout on Thursday.
In the girls' 54kg category, Chandrika Pujari had little difficulty overcoming Kazakhstan's teenager boxer Ramina Makhanova by a unanimous 5-0 decision to set up a title clash with Uzbekistan's 15-year-old Kumriniso Muhammadova.
Harnoor Kaur's 66kg bout also turned out to be a one-sided affair as she beat Chinese-Taipei's Lu Wen-jing 5-0 to set up the gold-medal match against Kazakhstan's Ayaulym Ospanova, while Anshika in 80-plus kg got the better of China's Guo Jiaqing. She will meet Kazakhstan's Elnura Kongyat in the final.
In the girls' 50kg semifinal, Ahaana Sharma had to slug it out against Uzbekistan's Nazokat Mardonova before a split 3-2 decision went in the Indian's favour. She will take on Ma Jong Hyang of DPR Korea in the final.
In the boys' section, Lanchenba Singh won his 50kh semifinal bout against DPR Korea's An Phyong Guk 5-0 to set up a title match with Kazakhstan's Zhumagali Nurmakhan.
In girls' wrestling, 61kg grappler Yashita assured India of at least a silver by reaching the final defeating Kyrgyzstan's Akylai Chynybaeva 6-0. She will meet Kazakhstan's Zhaidar Mukhat later in the day.
In badminton, Suryaksh Rawat overcame his second-round hurdle to reach the quarterfinals by overcoming Chinese-Taipei's Huang Jyun-Kai 21-14, 21-19, while the mixed doubles pair Jaison Bjorn and Angel Punera got the better of Ramos Roaquine and Shachie Calderon of the Philippines 21-10, 21-13 to make the quarters.
Vennala Kalagotla, in girls' singles, secured an easy passage into the quarterfinals with a 21-10, 21-12 win against the Philippines' Eve Bejasa, while Tankara Talasila in boys' singles entered the quarterfinals with an easy win against a Philippines opponent.
In table tennis, Divyanshi Bhowmick beat Thailand's 14-year-old Panita Vijittham 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 to advance to the girls' round of 16, while the mixed doubles team of Syndrela Das and Sarthak Arya moved into the semifinals with a 3-2 win against Korea's Seungsoo Lee and Heo Yerim.
In swimming, India's teen sensation Dhinidhi Desinghu finished the girls' 100m freestyle event in fifth place with a time of 57.72 seconds.
India have bagged a total of 25 medals, including three gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze and are currently placed 11th on the medals tally.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
