Strandja Memorial Tournament: Deepak Kumar enters semis, ensures second medal for India

Indian boxer Deepak Kumar continued his sensational run at the 72nd Strandja Memorial Tournament as he stormed into the men's 52kg semi-finals with a dominating 5-0 win against local boy Darislav Vasilev on the fourth day in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Asian Championship silver medallist Deepak looked in complete control throughout the match. Deepak was swift in his movement inside the ring and his speedy footwork did not allow his Bulgarian opponent any chance to score.

With this win, Deepak became second Indian after Naveen Boora (69kg) to seal a spot in the semi-finals in the on-going tournament and also assured a second medal for the country.

Both the Indians will play Uzbekistan boxers in their respective last-4 clash on Friday night. While Deepak will face a strong challenge from Rio Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov, Boora will be up against Asian Games gold medallist Bobo-Usmon Baturov.

Meanwhile, Indian women boxers Jyoti Gulia (51kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) suffered 5-0 defeats in their quarter-final bouts.

Gulia lost to Roman boxer Lacramioara Perijoc, Kachari also went down against the world championship bronze medallist Naomi Graham of USA. Manjeet Singh also lost his +91kg quarter-final bout against Armenia's Gurgen Hovhannisyan.

( With inputs from ANI )