Bhavesh Kattimani and Ankit Narwal secure final births at Khelo India Games

Favourites, including World Youth bronze medallist Bhavesh Kattimani (Maharashtra) and Asian bronze medallist Ankit Narwal (Haryana), secured final berths in their respective weight classes at Khelo India Youth Games boxing competition here on Thursday. Kattimani, who trains at the Army Sports Institute, overcame a stiff challenge from Manipur's Kongkham Naothoi Singh in the boys under-21 52kg class. All other bouts contested today were in the boys and girls under-17 categories. In the light-middleweight class (70kg), Hissar girl Pranjal Yadav stunned KISG and 2018 Nations Cup gold medallist, fellow Haryana girl Raj Sahiba of Bhiwani 3-2.

Pranjal, who trains with her uncle and Asian bronze medallist Vikash Krishan, will now take on Rajasthan's Arundhati Choudhary. The Rajasthan girl defeated Sanamacha Chanu (Manipur) 4-1. In the top fight, both pugilists traded blows aggressively and were warned by the referee frequently. Initially, Singh looked impressive but Kattimani kept calm and held his defence together. "Our coach asked me to change the strategy during the match. He told me keep Singh away and not to allow him to get a punch combo. I meticulously followed his instructions and got the expected results," said Kattimani.

After a fruitful year in 2018, the World Youth bronze medallist is eying a berth in the Indian team for the next Commonwealth Games. In the lightweight class (60kg), Narwal knocked out Rahul Mamgai (UP) 4-1 and will take on Maharashtra's Laisharam Singh in the final after the latter outboxed Saurabh Chand of Uttarakhand 5-0. In the girls Under-17 category, Pune's Devika Ghorpade avenged her defeat against Haryana's Rinku in the pinweight (46kg) category.

Last year, Devika had gone down to Rinku in the final of the Khelo India School Games, but this time she came up with a plan and eliminated her rival with a 3-2 score. "Considering that Devika and Rinku would probably face each other in the semi-finals or final, we had chalked out our strategy. Rinku is a southpaw and Devika got confused against her last time," said Devika's coach and former Olympian Manoj Pingale. "As she had little experience of facing left-handers, we managed to get few southpaw sparring partners for her. It was difficult to get such players in girls. So, we called a few boys to train with her. This paid off and Devika comfortably secured a win."

(With inputs from agencies.)