New Delhi: Deepak Kumar’s good run in the men’s 52kg category of the 72nd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, came to an end on Saturday as he lost to local favourite Daniel Asenov 2-3 in the final, settling for silver.
India’s Naveen Boora won bronze in men’s 69kg.
Kumar began his campaign for the title on a cautious note. Taking advantage of his better reach, he scored points with straight left punches. At the same time, he weaved past his spirited opponent to avoid conceding points.
But both boxers were more aggressive in the second round, and exchanged a flurry of punches in their bid to gain the upper hand.
In the third and final round, Asenov continued to attack Kumar that gave him a slight edge. As Kumar became a bit defensive in the closing stages, it went against him and he eventually had to settle for silver in his first international tournament of the season.
Earlier, in the semis, Kumar had upset Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan 4-1. He dominated his quarterfinal match against local boy Darislav Vasilev with a 5-0 win.
