Ekaterinburg : Asian champion Amit Panghal (52kg) on Friday became the first Indian to enter the finals of the World Men’s Boxing Championship while Manish Kaushik (63kg) signed off with a Bronze medal after going down in the semifinals here.Second seeded Panghal prevailed 3-2 against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the last-four stage.But Commonwealth Games Silver-winner Kaushik, competing in his debut world championship, lost 0-5 to top-seeded Cuban Andy Gomez Cruz.“The bout went very well for me although I had to put in more effort than I had thought. It is a huge achievement for Indian boxing and I am thankful for all the support that I have got,” Panghal said after the triumph.Today, he will take on Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning Olympic champion. Zoirov defeated Frenchman Billal Bennama in his semifinal showdown.Before this, India had never won more than one Bronze medal in a single edition of the world championships but Panghal and Kaushik changed that by making the semifinals.“I am obviously very happy but there is an unfinished business as of now. I have worked really hard and I would like to ensure that I get the best prize,” Panghal said.“The guy I fought today was taller but he didn’t have the kind of power that I have. My rival tomorrow (final) is an unknown entity to me. I haven’t fought him before. I will rely on old videos to figure him out,” he said.His trademark pace and ability to adapt coming in handy, Panghal outmaneuvered the taller Kazakh, who came into the semis after upstaging reigning Artur Hovhannisyan in the quarterfinals.The diminutive Armyman was more accurate, put more power into his punches and was sharp defensively against the Kazakh. This was after Panghal spent most of the first round getting a measure of his rival.Bibossinov was no pushover either and tried his level best to cash in on the height advantage but the Indian kept him at a distance to ensure that most of the Kazakh’s attacks either didn’t connect or lacked in impact.In the other semifinal bout featuring an Indian, Kaushik struggled to keep up with the Cuban, whose counter-attacking game was simply outstanding. Kaushik did get a few body punches through but couldn’t fend off the counter-strikes that came his way in all the three rounds.
