Asian Championships 2021 gold medalist Sanjeet (92kg) and three-time national champion Varinder Singh (60kg) notched up commanding wins against their respective opponents on Day 1 of the Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships here on Sunday.
Sanjeet, representing Services, used his experience to beat Jagadheeshwaran J of Karnataka in the opening round itself.
Sanjeet’s aggressive approach and hard-hitting punches were too good to handle for his opponent, resulting in the referee stopping the contest for the former’s win.
On Tuesday, Sanjeet will be up against Sawan Gill of Chandigarh in the pre-quarterfinals clash. Varinder, playing for Railways, began the bout on a cautious note against Bihar’s Amlesh Kumar. Varinder tested his opponent initially before launching some counter-attacking punches towards the end.
Riding on his confidence from his opening two-round exploits, Varinder raked up a 5-0 triumph. He will be up against Vishal Nupe of Maharashtra in the Round of 32 clash. Meanwhile, Harsh Choudhary (80kg) of Rajasthan, who represented India at the 2023 Men’s World Championships, faced Uttar Pradesh’s Shivam Saini in his tournament opener.
Choudhary overpowered his opponent thanks to his quick moments, strength, and accurate punches, winning the bout 5-0 by unanimous decision. On Tuesday, Choudhary will face Jammu & Kashmir’s Chander Dev Singh in the pre-quarterfinals.
Also, Punjab’s Jashanpreet Singh (71kg) registered a commanding win against Mohammad Moin Shikh of Gujarat, as the bout ended with a knockout in Round 2.
Assam’s Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), a six-time Asian medalist, will begin his campaign in the Round of 32, having received a bye in his opening round, and will take on Abhinash Jamwal of Himachal Pradesh on Monday.
Similarly, Amit Panghal (51kg) of Services, a World Championships silver medalist, will be in action on Monday against Shivaji of Maharashtra in the Round of 32 clash. Over 350 boxers across 13 weight categories are taking part in the championships.