Dinesh Kumar became the second Indian to be assured of a medal at the AIBA Boxing World Cup after defeating Algeria's Abdelhafid Benchabla 17-11 to enter the semi-finals of the light heavy weight division in Moscow on Wednesday.
The Haryana boxer will face Vladimir Cheles in the semi-finals on December 13. The Russian beat Artur Beterbeiv of Maldives 5-1 in another quarter-final.
Last night's win was sweet revenge for the Haryana boxer, who lost to Benchabla in the first round at the Beijing Olympics.
"The win is a great morale-booster for me. My next bout is a tough one but, hopefully, I will be able to come good," Dinesh said after his bout.
India has a four-strong presence at the event. Bantamweight pugilist Akhil Kumar has already advanced to the semi-finals. Jitender Kumar (51kg) and A L Lakra (57kg) will open their campaign later on Thursday evening.
The World Cup is a prize-money tournament, which offers US $10,000 for gold medallists and US $5,000 and 2,500 for silver and bronze winners respectively.
