Manoj makes it to quarters

Olym­pian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) marched into the quarterfinals of the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championship at Amman, Jordon.

Also to move into the last-eight stage on Wednesday were National Games bronze medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and reigning national champion Sukhdeep Singh (75kg).

 Manoj made short work of his Sri Lankan opponent Mohamed Dilshan. The Indian played aggressively and caught Dilshan off guard on many occasions before being unanimously declared a winner. He next plays Armi Khir of Malaysia.

In the welter weight division, recently crowned Limassol Boxing Cup Champion Jangra dominated the proceeding against Lebanese boxer Antar Khodor. The 20-year-old, who lost out in the quarterfinals in the previous edition in 2011, maintained a steady lead throughout the three rounds. He won on a unanimous decision to move to the next stage and now faces a stiff challenge against Nodirbek Kosimov of Uzbekistan. Kosimov secured a bronze medal in the last edition at Incheon and will be gunning to better his previous performance.

Debutant Sukhdeep also gave a good account of himself as he overhauled South Korean boxer Kim Dachwan in a one-sided contest. He now faces 2010 World Combat Games bronze medallist, Jafoyev Navruz of Tajikistan on Friday.