In a very exciting encounter which could put India among the medals, Akhil Kumar defeated the World Champion of 2007, S Vodopyanov of Russia to advance into the quarter-final in the 54-kg bantomweight category in boxing. In a very intense encounter all was even at the end of the 4-round bout with each having 9-point each, but to the utter disbelief of the world-champion, Akhil Kumar's hand was raised by the refree to declare him the winner. This brought about intense joy for Akhil Kumar as well as the entire contingent as this was totally not expected. Akhil had just gone out there and given his best, without even thinking about the result and the result being positive stunned everybody.
The entire Indian contingent was in a happy mood to know the result and Akhil Kumar was pure ecstatic. This victory has put the world leader out of contention and gives a realistic chance for the Indian to get some much-awaited glory for India at the Olympics after the gold medal from Abhinav Bindra in shooting.
Earlier, before the match, a very confident Akhil Kumar had warned the champion that he had nothing to lose and on the eve of India's Independence Day, he would give his best shot for the people sitting at home watching television. This truly was a very commendable effort which will surely be applauded by every Indian on their independence day.