Indian boxers began their Asian Games campaign on a winning note with Akhil Kumar (60kg) defeating Nepal's Purna Bahadur Lama via a technical knockout and Shiva Thapa (56kg) getting a walkover to enter the second round of their respective events at Seonhak Gymnasium here Wednesday.
Shiva only had to step into the ring as his opponent, Leonel Helo Prada of Timor Leste, gave him a walkover in his opening round at the Seonhak Gymnasium here. Thapa will now take on Nadir of Pakistan in the round of 16 bout Friday.
Akhil, returning to international scene after a three-year absence due to injury, was dominant from the very start and effortlessly beat Lama.
He raced to a 30-24 lead in the opening round when Lama faced the standing eight count twice. The second half panned out similarly with the Nepalese boxer facing one more standing eight count before Akhil won it 30-25.
Akhil continued to batter and bruise his helpless opponent till the referee stopped the match halfway into the final three minutes and declared him as the winner via a technical knockout.