Jitender, Bhagwan go down in pre-quarters at World C'ship

CHICAGO: It turned out to be a disappointing day for the Indians in the World Boxing Championships as Jitender Kumar and Jai Bhagwan missed Olympic qualification, crashing out in the pre-quarterfinals.

Jitender went down fighting 9-14 to three-time European champion Georgy Balakshin of Russia in the fly weight category.

Bhagwan, on the other hand, lost 7-16 to Colombian Darley Perez in the light weight category. The duo needed to make the quarterfinals to book a berth in Beijing Olympics next year.

Jitender and Balakshin were off to a slow start with both boxers tied at a point each in the opening round. The Russian took off in the second round and established a three-point lead.

Jitender tried hard for a comeback in the next two rounds but could not bridge the gap.

Bhagwan's bout was also a close affair in the first two rounds with the Indian being just couple of points behind his rival.

The turning point of the fight was the penultimate round in which Bhagwan failed to score a single point.

Perez then came up with a flurry of punches in the final round to overcome the Indian.

Jitender and Bhagwan's loss leaves A L Lakra as the only Indian in fray after the last-16 stage. The feather weight pugilist will take on Chinese Yang Li in the quarterfinals later on Thursday.

India is currently tied for the 17th spot in the Championship table with nine points. Russia lead the pack with 24 points closely followed by China, with 23 points.

USA is third in the list with 21 points.