National Boxing Championships: CWG medallist Rohit Tokas, Manish Kaushik make winning start

Six-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa got a bye in the first round.

The 2019 World Championships bronze medalist Manish Kaushik and the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) duo of Rohit Tokas and Sachin put up sensational displays to start their campaign on a winning note on the first day of the 6th Elite Men's National Boxing Championships in Hisar on Saturday.

Kaushik (63.5kg) was up against Prabhat Diwedi of Madhya Pradesh and living up to his name, he made light work of his opponent. He was on the front foot since the get-go and after dominating the first two rounds, the bout came to an end after the referee stopped the contest (RSC) towards the end of the third round. Kaushik will take on Sandeep Doni of Andhra Pradesh in the round-of-16 bout on Tuesday.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Tokas (67kg) faced Rahul of Uttarakhand in his tournament opener. Being at his attacking best, Tokas overpowered his opponent by utilising his quick movement to dodge attacks and his strength to land accurate punches. He won the bout 5:0 by unanimous decision and will be in round-of-16 action on Monday.

Similar to Tokas, Sachin (57kg) produced a stunning performance to prevail by 5:0 against Raman Sharma of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu (DNHDD). The 2016 Youth World champion was at the top of his game and hardly gave his opponent a chance to make a comeback throughout the bout. He will take on Neeraj of Haryana in the Round of 32 bout on Monday.

The 2022 Asian Championships bronze medalist Govind (48kg) received a walkover against Jenish Patel of Gujarat. The Thailand Open champion will face Mansingh of Jammu and Kashmir in his Round of 16 bout on Tuesday.

Priyandhu Dabas (54kg) of Haryana registered a commanding victory against Prakash Singh of Chhattisgarh with the bout ending after the referee stopped contest in the first round.

The record six-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa who is representing Assam will begin his campaign from the round of 16 stage after getting a bye in the first round. He will face Jaswinder Singh of Delhi on Monday.

Similar to Thapa, the Service Sports Control Board (SSCB) duo of Sanjeet and Narender will be kicking off their campaign from the round-of-16 stage after receiving a bye in the first round.

The 2021 Asian Champion Sanjeet (92kg) will take to the ring against either Sampath MP of Kerala and Jagwinder Singh of Punjab on Sunday while Narender (+92kg), the 2022 Asian Championships bronze medalist will go head to head against the winner of the bout between Kerala's Gajalvaliyathan and Rajasthan's Sarthak Achriya on Monday.

Two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) who is also representing SSCB will be in action on Sunday. He will face Bulen Buragohain of Assam in his round-of-32 bout.

A total of 386 boxers across 13 different weight categories are participating in the championships.