Pugilist Santosh Kumar assured India of at least a bronze medal after advancing to the semi-finals of the 64-kg category with a hard-fought victory over Mangolia's Tuvshinbat Byamba in Guangzhou on Monday.
Confusion prevailed after the scores were tied 3-3 at the end of third and final round, but Santosh was declared winner on the decision of the judges.
Santosh started on a positive note taking a 1-0 lead after the end of first round before Byamba rallied to make a strong fightback in the following rounds.
Both boxers were content with playing a defensive game in the second round and one could hardly see those counter punches, ferocious upper cuts and jabs. Fortunately for Byamba, he connected with a strong right hand to tie the scores at 1-1.
Deadlocked at 1-1 after two rounds, Byamba raised his game after Santosh got an early point. The Indian again went into lead before Byamba equalised 3-3 with just two seconds to go.
With the scores level, the judges, after a thorough consultation, awarded the bout in favour of the Indian.
Meanwhile, disappointment was in store for another Indian boxer, Amandeep Singh. He was outclassed 6-1 by Victorio Saludar of the Philippines in the quarter-finals of 49kg category.
Amandeep was not in his elements on Monday as he trailed Saludar in all the three rounds.
With Saludar denying to drop his guard, Amandeep found it difficult to score free points, eventually losing the bout by an embarrassing margin.
