Deepak, Poonam Advance As India Endure Mixed Start At Boxing World Cup In China

India experienced a mixed opening day at the Boxing World Cup Stage 2 in China, with Deepak and Poonam emerging as the country's only winners , while seven other boxers suffered defeats in their respective bouts on Monday.

Competing in the women's 54kg category , Poonam delivered a dominant performance to defeat Uzbekistan's Aziza Yokubova by a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the preliminary round of 32. The victory secured her place in the next stage of the tournament and provided India with its first success of the campaign.

Deepak matched that effort in the men's 70kg division , registering an equally convincing 5-0 win over Turkmenistan's Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov in the preliminary round of 32. His composed display ensured India's presence in the next round of the competition.

However, the remainder of the Indian contingent faced a difficult day in the ring. In the preliminary round of 16, Rishi Singh (50kg) lost 0-5 to Azerbaijan's Subhan Mamedov , while Sanamacha Chanu Thokchom (75kg) suffered a similar defeat against Canada's Tammara Thibeault .

In the men's 90kg category, Sawan Gill was beaten 0-5 by Norway's Omar Shiha . Anmol (60kg) came close to progressing but was edged out 2-3 by American boxer Salim Ellis Bey in a closely contested bout.

Meanwhile, Harsh Choudhary (90kg) saw his contest against Sweden's Elwin Belezika end prematurely after the referee stopped the fight due to injury in the third round, resulting in an RSC (I) loss.

India's disappointment continued in the quarterfinals, where Naina (80kg) lost 0-5 to China's Xiaomeng Wang , while Alfiya Tarannum Akram Khan Pathan (90+kg) was defeated by Poland's Elzbieta Wojcik by the same margin.

With only Deepak and Poonam advancing, India will look for stronger performances as the tournament progresses.