Indian pugilist Manoj Kumar today stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the men's 64kg category boxing competition with a convincing 3-0 win over Mokhachane Moshoshoe of Lesotho at the Commonwealth Games, here today.
Manoj was cautious in the opening round but then completely dominated the bout in the remaining two rounds. But, all the three judges who handed the decision in favour of Manoj gave a close 10-9 verdict in all the three rounds, indicating that it was a close fight.
Under the new rules of boxing, three judges will give their decision on who won the bout besides also giving round by points like 10-9 (close round), 10-8 (clear winner in the round), 10-7 (the boxer is outclassed) or 10-6 (this should never happen).
Foreign coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez expressed surprise over the close fight decision by the judges.
"Manoj should have got more points and they did not give points to Manoj. It was not a close fight. Manoj completely dominated the bout. But Manoj need to improve if he wants to go further in the tournament."
Fernandez, however, said that Manoj did not exert much as he need to preserve himself as it's a long tournament.
"When you fight against weaker opponents, you have to take care that you don't injure yourself. Moreover, there is no headgear used in boxing. So you have to be careful and should not get injured early in the tournament."
Asked about the impact of new rules, "It applies to every boxer, not to our boxers only," Fernandez said.
