The 20-year-old Akash Kumar’s brilliant run on debut at the championships ended with the bronze medal after he lost in the semi-final. Alongside the bronze medal, the boxer from Bhiwani also won $25000.
Though the medals table shows only one medal to India’s name, it was a gutsy and courageous effort by the Indian contingent at the prestigious event which witnessed top-class competition in presence of boxers from more than 100 countries. Out of 13-member Indian contingent that took part in the World Championships, 11 pugilists were making their maiden appearance with only Shiva Thapa and Sanjeet having experience of playing such a big and prestigious tournament. The young squad, however, gave their all and put up impressive performances as nine boxers made it to the Last-16 stage while five of them reached the quarter-finals.
