The Indian boxers were off to a flier in the World Youth Championships with Shyam Kakara (49kg) pummelling UAE’s Abdulla Almulla in his opening bout in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Kakara won the bout via Technical Knock Out (TKO) within the first two rounds. Technical Knock Out was a result of Almulla being declared unfit to continue after coming in for severe thrashing from the Indian pugilist.
Meets Withrana Kakara will now be up against Sri Lanka’s Ishanka Withrana, who got a first-round bye.
Earlier, Asian silver medallists Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Neel Kamal Singh (75kg) were among the four Indians who were handed first-round byes in the tournament, which would double up as a qualifying event for the Youth Olympics, slated to be held in Nanjing (China) from August 16 to 28.
Manjeet (69kg) and Manju Bombariya (75kg) are the other Indians to get a bye in the tournament, which combines the men’s and women’s competition for the first time.
The youngsters, all in the age bracket of 17 and 18, will have to reach at least the semifinals of the world event to make the cut for the Youth Olympics.
India had won a couple of silver medals and a bronze in the previous edition in Yerevan, Armenia.
