New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) Indian boxer Akhil Kumar out-punched Nauru's Maakal Dj to enter the semifinals and assure himself of at least a bronze medal at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia today.
The former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist won the bout 19-14 to make the last-four stage in the biennial event where India is participating for the first time.
The 29-year-old, who is competing in his first international event after the disappointment of losing in the quarterfinals of the Commonwealth Games last year in Delhi, would have won by a bigger margin but for a couple of warnings he got in the final round of the bout.
Akhil led 6-3 in the opening round and made it 12-7 in the next three minutes before closing it off at 19-14. The Haryana boxer will face Australian Ibrahim Balla in the semifinals tomorrow.