Manish Kaushik through to quarter-finals of Boxam International Meet

CASTELLON (Spain): World Championships bronze medallist Manish Kaushik made an impressive comeback in the ring as he out punched Spanish opponent Raddouane Ammari 5-0 on the opening day of the Boxam International Tournament to enter the quarter-finals in the 63-kg light welterweight category in Castellon, Spain.

Another Indian who was in action on Day 1 on Tuesday, Mohammed Husamuddin (57 kg) also made his way into the quarter-finals with a comfortable 4-1 scoreline against local boy Juan Manuel Torres.

Haryana boxer Kaushik, 25, couldn't compete in the ring since Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in March last year due to injuries and is making a return after more than a year's break. He will take on two-time ASBC Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist Kazakhstan boxer SufiullinZakir on Thursday while Commonwealth Games bronze medallistHusamuddin will face Italy's Simone Spada. Zakir beat Abdelhaq Nadir of Morocco 3-1 in the preliminary round match.

The second day of the tournament will see six Indian women boxers taking part. This includes six-time world champion Mary Kom (51 kg), Jasmine and ManishaMoun (57 kg), SimranjitKaur (60 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg) and Pooja Rani (75 kg) competing in the quarter-finals.

A 14-member Indian contingent (eight men and six women), including nine Olympic qualified and other top boxers, is taking part in the 35th edition of the tournament where boxers from 17 countries, including top boxing nations like Russia, USA, Italy, Kazakhstan and Spain, are participating. (IANS)

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