Akash will be up against 19-year-old Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan, a three-time Asian gold-medallist at the youth level
Hardened by the difficult circumstances of his personal life, young boxer Akash Kumar (54kg) secured India's first medal at the ongoing AIBA Men's World Championships here on Tuesday by advancing to the semifinals with a superb win over former Olympic silver-medallist Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela.
The 21-year-old Akash prevailed 5-0 with a fabulous performance which was a perfect mix of powerful punching and great showmanship. He was the only Indian left in fray after four others bowed out with quarterfinal losses.
The fearless youngster scored on counter-attacks with a non-existent guard and taunted his opponent, all this while staying out of his range with terrific pace and footwork. Even a cut above his eye could not slow him down or force him to raise his guard.
"My strategy was to attack from word go, I took the first round with that and in the second, I had to protect my cut as well, while going forward, which I managed to do," Akash said after the triumph.
A product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, the Services boxer lost his mother to a lung infection in September and competed in the national championships unaware of the tragedy.
However, Narender Berwal (+92kg), five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Nishant Dev (71kg) and Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) bowed out of the competition, leaving Akash as the lone Indian in fray now.
While Berwal was out-maneuvered by Azerbaijan's Mahammad Abdullayev. Berwal lost 0-5, Thapa, who was aiming to become the first Indian male boxer to claim two medals at the world event having fetched a bronze in the 2015 edition, was beaten on pace and aggression by Turkey's 19-year-old Kerem Oezmen in the quarterfinals. Thapa lost 0-5.
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