Sachin lands golden punch at Youth World Boxing

World Junior bronze-medallist Sachin Singh (49kg), on Saturday, became only the third Indian boxer ever to strike gold at the AIBA Youth World Championships with a stunning unanimous victory over Cuban national champion Jorge Grinan in the summit clash at St Peterburg in Russia.

The 17-year-old outpunched his more fancied rival 5-0 to record a rare Indian triumph over a Cuban boxer.

“Two of my fellow Indian boxers had lost to Cubans earlier in the tournament, I wanted to extract revenge and I am glad I could do it. It is very satisfying to beat stronger and better rivals, especially if it happens to be a Cuban,” Sachin said from St Petersburg after the brilliant triumph.

“It is a huge moment in my career. I fought five bouts in this tournament and I am glad I could give a performance like this. The Cuban was also good but it’s just that he could not trap me in his strategy. I never allowed him to get close to me,” the confident youngster said.

The lanky teen, who once again put his powerful left jab to good use, displayed brilliant ringcraft against his shorter and often clueless opponent.

India, thus, finished the tournament with one gold and a bronze, a marked improvement from the solitary bronze won in the 2014 edition. Naman Tanwar (91kg) had settled for a bronze after losing in the semi-final on Friday.

“Our young boxers Sachin and Naman have made India proud by winning medals in the Youth World Championships. I hope the cash awards will encourage them to do even better in future. This is the first step towards our country reclaiming its rightful place as a boxing power in the world,” BFI President Ajay Singh said.