Sumit Kundu (men’s 75kg) and Neeraj Phogat (women’s 65kg) registered contrasting wins to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of their respective weight categories at the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool, England, on Friday.
Sumit was rarely in any trouble throughout the bout against Jordan’s Mohammad Alhussien in the men’s 75kg first round to win 5-0. Neeraj, on the other hand, had to dig deep into her reserves to outlast Finland’s Krista Kovalainen and eke out a 3-2 verdict.
Neeraj was up first on the second day of competition and was under pressure as the Finnish national champion, Kovalainen, mounted a strong comeback in the second round. However, the Indian boxer took the attack to her opponent in the third round and got four of the five judges to back her to win the bout and advance.
Meanwhile, Sumit dominated all the three rounds against Alhussien to make it to the pre-quarterfinals.
The opening day of the World Boxing Championships saw Pawan Bartwal give India a winning start as he got the better of Brazil’s Michael Douglas Trindade, a Paris Olympian, in a close men’s 55kg bout.
On Thursday night, Sanamacha Chanu had defeated Denmark’s Ditte Frostholm to start her women’s 70kg campaign, while World Boxing Cup Astana gold medallist Sakshi outclassed Viktoriia Shkeul of Ukraine in her women’s 54kg opener.
Sakshi was at her aggressive best against the Ukrainian boxer and the referee had to stop the contest (RSC) in the second round.
Harsh Chaudhary (men’s 90kg) was the only Indian boxer to face a reversal in the opening round as he went down against Poland’s Adam Tutak.
On Friday evening, Narender (men’s 90+kg) will face Martin McDonagh of Ireland while Jaismine will launch her women’s 57kg campaign against Daria-Olha Hutarina of Ukraine.
India has fielded a 20-member contingent in the inaugural World Boxing Championships. The event features over 550 boxers from more than 65 nations – including 17 Paris 2024 medallists.