World Boxing Championships: India's Kavinder Singh Bisht, Sanjeet reach pre-quarterfinals

Asian silver-medallist Kavinder Singh Bisht booked his place in the pre-quarterfinals of the AIBA World Men's Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia after edging past China's Chena Zhihao 3-2 in the men's 57kg category in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Sunday evening. 

The Indian boxer left his Chinese opponent Zhihao with a bloodied face at the end of the second-round bout before the judges ruled the decision in favour of Bisht. During the clash, the two boxers didn't manage to connect much impactful punches. 

With the win, Bisht has now set up a clash against Arslan Khataev of Finland for a place in the quarter-final of the prestigious championship. 

Meanwhile, Sanjeet--another Indian in the fray--also stormed into the round-of-16 after defeating Scott Forrest of Scotland 4-1 in men's 91kg category.

Sanjeet made a slow start to his second bout of the competition, but he rebounded strongly in the second and third rounds of the encounter to eventually emerge victorious. 

However, it was curtains for India's Brijesh Yadav as he knocked out of the tournament after slumping to a 1-4 split verdict defeat at the hands of Turkey’s Bayram Malkan in the 81 kg category. 

The 2019 World Boxing Championships, which is featuring more than 450 boxers from 87 countries, was meant to be an Olympic qualifier and is featuring the revised eight weight categories--52kg, 57kg, 63kg, 69kg, 74kg, 81kg, 91kg, +91kg-- instead of the traditional 10 categories.

However, the International Olympic Committee decided to strip the tournament of that status following the administrative mess in the International Boxing Association (AIBA).