ASTANA: Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen (52kg) made a rampaging start to her campaign with a convincing 5-0 win over Kazakhstan's Rakhymberdi Zhansaya on the opening day of the Elorda Cup boxing tournament here on Monday.
Minakshi (48kg) and Anamika (50kg) also made winning starts to their campaign.
While Minakshi progressed to the next round with a 4-1 victory over Gassymova Roxana of Kazakhstan, Anamika defeated Zhumabayeva Arailym with a referee stop the contest (RSC) win in the first round.
Fellow Indians Ishmeet Singh (75kg) and Sonia (54kg), however, bowed out after losing 0-5 against Kazakhstan's Armanuly Armat and China's Chang Yuan respectively.
Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Sanjay (80kg) and Gaurav Chauhan (92+) will be in action on Tuesday alongside three other Indian boxers.
The Boxing Federation of India has sent a 21-member squad for the prestigious tournament which has been witnessing the participation of pugilists from strong boxing nations such as Kazakhstan, China, India, Japan and Uzbekistan.