Tashkent: Tokyo Olympian Ashish Chaudhary advanced to the 80kg pre-quarterfinals with a split decision win over Meysam Gheshlaghi of Iran at the Men’s World Boxing Championships here Tuesday.
Ashish secured a hard-fought 4-1 victory against the former Asian Championships silver medalist.
The 28-year-old from Himachal Pradesh displayed his attacking intent from the word go by landing powerful jabs to keep his opponent at bay in the first round.
Ashish, the 2019 Asian Championships silver medalist, then utilised his smart movement and supreme technical ability to edge past the Iranian.
He will now face a tough challenge from the two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba in the round of 16.
Meanwhile, debutant Harsh Choudhary bowed out of the competition after suffering a 0-5 unanimous decision loss against Billy McAllister of Australia in the 86kg category.
Wednesday, Nishant Dev (71kg) will take on the 2021 World Championships bronze medalist Sarkhan Alliyev of Azerbaijan in his first match of the tournament which is witnessing the participation of 538 boxers, including several Olympic medalists, from 107 countries.
PTI
