Beijing, Aug 16 : Haryana's Jitender Kumar is a step closer to the Olympic medal after defeating his Uzbek counterpart Tulashboy Doniyorov 13-6 in an ill-tempered bout to amble into the quarterfinal of the 51kg event on Saturday.

On his maiden Olympic trip Jitender became the second Indian boxer to put himself just one win away from an Olympic medal.

Jitender will meet three-time European champion Russian Georgy Balakshin in the quarterfinals on August 20.

He had lost to Balakshin in 2007 World Championship by just one point.

While talking of his last defeat to Balakshin, Jitender said, "This time I'm not going to spare him."

"Akhil Kumar has beaten him in the past and I'll ask Akhil how to crack him," he added.

During the bout Jitender showed maturity beyond his years. He landed the first blow on the Uzbek and led 4-1 after the opening round. Having established the lead, he protected it even if constant evading did not look glamorous.

Doniyorov was more attacking of the two, but his inability to connect against a swift-moving Jitender did him in.

Doniyorov went all out in the final two rounds but Jitender spent most of the time, bobbing and weaving. And when he went in, he went with a purpose and the Uzbek could never actually pin him down.

Throught the four rounds Doniyorov managed only four punches on Jitender his other two points came from penalty.

Jitender successfully unleashed 11 blows on the Uzbek that clearly saw him as the winner.

ANI