President's Cup Boxing: India's Gaurav Bidhuri enters semis; Simranjit Kaur, Dinesh Dagar confirm final spot

World Championships bronze-medallist Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) assured himself of a medal at the President’s Cup boxing tournament in Labuan Bajo, Philippines after claiming a comfortable win in the quarter-finals. Bidhuri, who claimed India’s lone medal in the 2017 world event in Hamburg, stormed past Afghanistan’s Waris Karimi to make the last-four stage on Wednesday evening. [caption id=“attachment_2219250” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Gaurav Bidhuri. AFP[/caption] The national championships’ silver-medallist will next be up against local favourite Junmilardo Ogayre, who defeated Korea’s Kim Haejin in his quarter-final bout. The Delhi-boxer was recently left out of the Indian squad for the upcoming World Championships to be held in Russia in September. The iconic MC Mary Kom is also competing in this tournament and is already through to the 51kg category semi-finals after getting an opening-round bye. Earlier, India Open gold-medallist Jamura Boro (54kg) advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s event, while Monika entered the finals. World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Dinesh Dagar (69kg) confirmed their places in the finals of the 23rd President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on Thursday. Ankush Dahiya (64kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) made it to the semi-finals of the competition. Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist Simranjit was flawless in her first bout and outpunched Italy’s Francesca Martusciello 5-0 in a commanding performance to enter the final against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun. Dagar, a silver medallist at the 2018 India Open, did not waste any time in racing towards a convincing 5-0 victory over Indonesian Naumeo Defri. Dinesh has so far been highly impressive at this tournament and got both his wins without dropping a single point. He will take on Indonesia’s Samada Saputra in the title clash. In 52kg, Chopade was unanimously declared the winner against Indonesia’s Fahmi Muhamad that enabled him to enter the semifinals and assure himself of a medal. He will aim to keep his run going against Sri Lanka’s Dharmasena Piyal. Dahiya knocked out Afghanistan’s Noor Belal in the third round to set up a semi-final showdown with Korea’s Giheon You. Earlier, Monika (48kg) ended the challenge of Indonesia’s Niis Anggelina 5-0 to book her place in the final of this tournament. India Open gold medallist Jamuna Boro (54kg) also continued her impeccable form to enter the semi-finals. In men’s 49kg, Neeraj Swami (49kg) has assured himself of a medal after making his way into the semifinals. Six-time World Championships gold medallist Mary Kom leads the 10-member Indian squad at this prestigious tournament which will continue till July 28.