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PANJIM: Goan boxers Kailas Gauns and Pralhad Panda came up trumps at the Susegado Strike Fight Night, knocking out their respective opponents at Goa’s first major boxing extravaganza, held at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula, recently.
Chimbel’s 30-year-old boxer, Kailas, coming strong off the blocks vanquished his opponent Sanjay S from Tamil Nadu with a technical knockout (TKO) in the very first round. Gauns, a Mike Tyson-idolising school dropout, stunned the audience in his debut fight with his aggressive blitz, winning the contest in a mere 1.50 seconds in the first round itself, making light work of Sanjay’s defences in the super flyweight category.
Mapusa’s Pralhad had to be more patient in the ring, before eventually defeating his opponent, Radhivarman from Tamil Nadu in the first round of the match, with a TKO in the featherweight category. Pralhad, 28, works as a personal trainer and was preparing with vigour for the contest over the last few months.
The Goan contenders, Kailas and Pralhad, put up spirited performances, as did other competitors from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, who competed across weight divisions ranging from feather to cruiserweight (52 kgs to over 90 kgs). Two female boxers were also in participation at the event, further underscoring the inclusive spirit of the event.
In the only bout featuring women boxers, Raj Sahiba, who hails from the country’s boxing capital of Hissar in Haryana, defeated Muskan Srivastava from Indore in Madhya Pradesh in the super lightweight category, winning her match comfortably over three rounds.
In other matches, Tamil Nadu’s Aswin V defeated Umar Rinosh from Kerala in the welterweight category over six rounds, while Aditya Jhangu from Haryana trounced his opponent Abilas K, from Tamil Nadu, with a TKO in the cruiserweight category in the second round. Abilas lasted just 1:12 minutes in the second round before conceding defeat. Telangana’s Mohammad Junaid, knocked out Uttar Pradesh’s Kuldeep Tarkar in the second round in the bantamweight category.
“Susegado Strike Fight Night was more than just a sporting event; it was a celebration of resilience, a key ingredient in the sport of boxing and serenity, a quality synonymous with Goa. The boxers displayed not only strength but also discipline and sportsmanship, embodying the true spirit of pugilism,” said Luigson Fernandes, one of the co-founders of Susegado Strike, adding that the next edition of the ‘Fight Night’ would be held in February next year.
The other co-founders are Clyde Lobo, a former two-time national boxing championship contestant and Prathamesh Naik, a Goan businessman and film producer.
