Commonwealth champion Dinesh Kumar became the second Indian boxer to assure himself of a medal at the Asian Games by advancing to the light heavyweight 81kg semifinals after out-punching Korean Jinho Heo at Guangzhou on Friday.
The 23-year-old beat his rival 10-6 in a lopsided bout during which Heo went off-balance several times due to the sheer power of the blows thrown by the Indian.
Paramjeet Samota was the first Indian to assure himself of a bronze by reaching the semifinals of 91+ weight category. Although Heo opened the scoring, it was Dinesh, an Arjuna awardee, who dominated with a power-packed performance that left the Korean dazed.
Heo had the footwork and speed to dodge Dinesh initially but once the Haryana-lad began connecting his trademark jabs and hooks, his rival could only scurry for cover.
Leading 5-2 in the opening round, Dinesh never really allowed Heo to claw back despite the Korean's several valiant efforts at countering the Indian's power.
Dinesh will take on Nepalese Deepak Maharjan who stunned Thailand's Kriangkai Sukkhum 4-0.
In the other Indian bout, 18-year-old Vikas Krishan (60kg) too inched closer to the medal round, advancing to the quarter-finals with an 8-1 triumph over Amangeldi Hudaybergenov of Turkmenistan.
Vikas will now take on North Korea's Kim Chol Song who defeated Abdulla Mohammed 7-5 in his pre-quarterfinal bout.
