Commonwealth Games silver medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) assured himself of a medal and place in the upcoming World Championships after storming into the Asian Championships semi-finals, in Bangkok, on Tuesday.
A silver medallist from the previous edition of the event, he out-punched Cornelis Kwangu Langu of Indonesia 3-0 in his quarter-final bout.
He will square off against top-seeded Uzbek Hasanboy Dusmatov in the semi-finals.
The victory also assured Devendro of a place in October's World Championships, the first qualifying event for next year's Rio Olympics.
"He boxed extremely well today. It was a very dominant performance and even though he faces a very tough opponent in the next round, he might just surprise everybody given the form that he is in," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.
The pint-sized dynamo was his usual aggressive self, using his right uppercuts and hooks with precision in all three rounds.
What stood out was the Manipuri's control. Known to be a tempo boxer, Devendro's aggression wasn't completely no holds barred.
The nimble-footed pugilist used the uppercut to break Langu's shell guard and scored with hooks and jabs.
In the evening session, defending champion Shiva Thapa (56kg) will take on Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Malabekov, while former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) will fight Uzbek Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in their respective quarter-final bouts.
They will be followed by second seed Vikas Krishan (75kg), against Vietnam's Dinh Hoang Truong, and Manpreet Singh (91kg), against second seed Rustam Tulaganov of Uzbekistan.
They will have to make it to the medal rounds to be assured of World Championship berths.
Image: Devendro Singh
Photograph: Scott Heavey/Getty Images
