Qamar outpunches Pakistani opponent

India's medal aspirant Mohammed Ali Qamar gave ample display of his skills to prevail over his Pakistani opponent and romp into the quarter-finals in boxing at the 14th Asian Games in Busan on Friday.

Qamar, who had won a gold medal at the recent Commonwealth Games in Manchester, set himself on track for another golden conquest as he thrashed Pakistan's Hafeez Imran by a 12-1 verdict, before the referee stopped the contest in the men's light-flyweight category.

Ali will meet Harry Tanamor of The Philippines on October 8. Harry defeated Shiming Zou of China 15-13 on points to enter the quarter-finals.

The 22-year-old boxer from Kolkata has been in very good form in recent times and he showed it today as he unleashed a series of punches to unsettle his Pakistani opponent, who was left with no option but to defend.

The Pakistani never really recovered from the early assault as Qamar kept outwitting him with a combination of sharp punches and deft body feints. Qamar also moved well and was quick on his feet which only compounded the misery of his rival in a potentially explosive showdown.

Such was Qamar's dominance that referee Kamiseki Yu of Japan had to stop the contest.

Qamar's performance brought some cheer to the Indian contingent after 1998 Bangkok Asian Games gold medal winner Dingko Singh fell by the wayside in the first round yesterday.