Olympic and world championship bronze medallist Vijender Singh out-classed his rival to ensure himself of at least a bronze along with two other compatriots on a second successive day of dominance for Indian boxers in the fifth Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi today.
Apart from Vijender (75kg), Asian champions Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and World Cup bronze medallist Dinesh Kumar (81kg) also advanced to the semifinals.
However, there was heartbreak for Dilbagh Singh (69kg), who lost a hard-fought bout.
Egged on by a partisan crowd, the world number one Vijender took just over five minutes to wrap up the bout and advance to the semifinals of the middle weight category.
He was leading 5-0 when the referee stopped the contest.
Both the boxers appeared defensive and spent most of the opening round trying to evade each other. The 24-year-old Indian managed to land a few straight punches that fetched him three points.
The second round belonged to Vijender and though he earned just two points, some lusty uppercuts forced the referee to stop the contest and award the bout to the Indian.
"I wanted to spend a little more time in the ring to get a feel of it and get into the groove but such a win denies you that. I hope to win a gold medal now," said Vijender.
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