On a mixed day for India, Sachin Siwach (54kg) was at the top of his game on Monday as he defeated Moldova's Serghei Novac comfortably to reach the pre-quarterfinals of the IBA Men's World Boxing Championships here.
However, the journey ended for fellow Indian pugilists Naveen Kumar and Govind Sahani as they lost their respective bouts on Matchday 8 to bow out of the competition.
The day belonged to Siwach as he came up with a superb display to maintain his chances of finishing on the podium.
Siwach dominated the match from the beginning and registered a 5-0 unanimous decision over his opponent. The 2021 World Youth champion started aggressively and never let his guard down in the first round.
Siwach continued with the same strategy in the second round as well. He landed some heavy punches on his opponent with swift movements. Siwach was all over Novach in the third and final round with precise hits and received the decision of all the judges in his favour.
Siwach will now face top seed Kazakhstan's Makhmud Sabyrkhan in pre-quarters on Tuesday, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) informed in a release on Monday.
On the other hand, Naveen Kumar (92kg) went down 0-5 against Enmanuel Reyes of Spain. The Indian boxer found it hard to get into a rhythm in the first round and could not find his feet in the second round as well. Naveen tried hard to get back into the game in the last round but it was too late and the Indian boxer lost the bout to exit the tournament.
Govind Sahani (48kg) also suffered a 0-5 defeat against top seed Sakhil Alakhverdovi of Georgia. The Indian pugilist couldn't find his feet and the Georgian boxer was too quick for him. He kept Govind at bay throughout the bout.
Deepak (51kg), Nishant Dev (71kg) and Akash Sangwan (67 kg) will be in action in their respective pre-quarterfinal bouts on Tuesday. Deepak (51kg) will face Jiamao Zhang of China, while Nishant Dev will go up against Nidal Foqahaa of Palestine. Akash Sangwan will play against Kazakhstan's Dulat Bekbauov.
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The ongoing tournament is witnessing the participation of 538 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 107 countries.