TheSportsCampus

Akhil Kumar won his second Gold medal in successive Commonwealth events, and won India her 21st gold overall in the Melbourne Games, on a mixed day for Indian pugilists.

The Bhiwani-boxing machine coasted through his final bout with Louis Richard Bruno Julie of Mauritius in the 54kg (bantamweight) category 20-12. After landing 6 unanswered blows in the opening round, the second round was quite even, with Akhil nicking it 5-4. However, the overall lead was now a healthy 11-4, and the bout was Akhil's to lose.

Akhil did slightly better in round 3, winning it 6-4, and despite losing the final round 3-4, did more than enough to ensure that Julie could not land that one big punch that could steal him the tie.

Boxing has now become the fourth discipline in the Games to bring a gold medal for India, after earlier successes in shooting, women's weightlifting and t able tennis. Ofcourse, the outcome was not unexpected, with Akhil coming into the event as the favourite having won Gold at the Commonwealth Federation Boxing Championships in Glasgow just last year.

In the first 'final' bout of the day, Harpreet Singh was beaten by Australian Bradley Michael Pitt in the 91kg (heavyweight) category. The bout was called off after just three rounds with Harpreet heavily behind.

In the 69 kg final, Vijender lost a tight battle with South African Bongani Mwelase 33-26. In an exceptionally high scoring bout, neither boxer held back, and were tied 4-4 at the end of the first round. Mwelase had the better of the second exchanges, pulling out a 16-12 lead at the end of it. The third round was tight again, but Mwelase managed to extend his advatage by a further point, and held on comfortably for the win an action packed final round.

Earlier in the week, Varghese Johnson (over 91 kg) and Jitender Kumar (51 kg) had picked up bronze medals for India.

India's one gold, two silver and two bronze medals is their best performance in boxing at any Commonwealth Games till date. India's only other gold in boxing from the Commonwealth Games came from Qamar Mohammed Ali in the 48 kg class at Manchester in 2002.