Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament: Sumit begins campaign in style

Bengaluru, February 21: Indian pugilist Sumit Kundu put up a spirited show to make a sensational start to his campaign at the 73rd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament, defeating 2021 World Championships silver medallist Dzhambulat Bizhamov on the opening day in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Playing his only second senior international tournament, Sumit, the reigning national champion, produced a flawless show to register a dominating 5-0 victory against his Russian opponent in the 75kg opening-round match.

As per a Boxing Federation of India (BFI) media release received here, the ace Indian pugilist will now face Ukraine's Oleksandr Khyzhniak in the second round.

Indian boxers handed tricky draws at Strandja Memorial, Nikhat to start in quarters Indian boxers handed tricky draws at Strandja Memorial, Nikhat to start in quarters

Meanwhile, Narender Berwal (+92kg), Varinder Singh (60kg) and Lakshya Chahar (86kg) all made early exits with defeats in their respective opening round matches.

Narender went down fighting 2-3 against the Spanish boxer Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi while Varinder and Chahar lost to their Russian opponents Artur Subkhankulov and Sharabutdin Ataev by 0-5 and 1-4 margin respectively.

The second day of Europe's oldest international boxing tournament will see four Indian boxers starting their campaigns.

Shiksha will face a tough challenge against the reigning Asian champion Dina Zholaman from Kazakhstan in the 54kg opening round match.

Nitu (48kg) and Anamika (50kg) are the other two Indian women to play their matches on the second day of the championship.

Among men, Akash Sangwan, who received bye in the opening round, will play against the German pugilist Deniel Krotter in the 67kg second round match later on Monday (February 21) night.

The prestigious tournament, which will go on till February 27, has been witnessing a participation of over 450 boxers from 36 countries around the world, including tradtitional boxing superpowers such as Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia and France.

A 17-member Indian contingent, including seven men and 10 women, are participating in the tournament which is the first of the Golden Belt Series and is also a testing event for International Boxing Association's World Boxing Tour format.

India won two medals in the last edition with Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora securing silver and bronze respectively.

As per the BFI media release, it is also the first competitive outing abroad for the Indian boxers this year.