PANAJI
Goan boxer Puspender Rathee won his quarterfinal bout in middleweight category to assure himself of a bronze medal at the 36th National Games underway in Gujarat.
Rathee outpunched Uttar Pradesh's Gagandeep 5-0 in the last-eight clash. He now plays the semifinal on Tuesday, against Malaswmitluanga of Mizoram. He won his previous bout by RSC Outclass in round 3 against Dhrampal from Himachal Pradesh.
Goa had three spots in this edition of the Games. Ashok Patil bowed out in the quarterfinals and Priti Chawhan lost in the preliminary round. Patil lost to Chander Mohan of Himachal Pradesh 0-5 in the Welterweight category, while Priti went down to Sobha Kohali of Uttarakhand 0-5 in flyweight category in the first round.
"Boxing has always brought a medal for Goa at the National Games, and with this medal the overall tally goes up to 4. GABA is thankful to the dedicated coaches Santosh Birmole, Chitambaram Naik and Valanky Dhumasker who have worked on these boxers since July 25," the Goa Amateur Boxing Association said in a press release.
"With support of SAG and GOA, we were able to partially fulfill our promise. This will be a boost to the sport and we hope to see positive implementations to get more medals when we host the National Games. It was unbelievable to see this boy win both his bouts with such an improved game," said Danuska Da Gama, secretary, GABA, who is appointed draw commissioner for boxing.
