Key Points

The U19 Asian Boxing Championships provide India's rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia's toughest opponents.

The event will be followed by the U22 continental championships and India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers -- 20 in each age group -- with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit.

In the morning session, Suman Kumari underlined Indian Boxing's growing stature as she dominated Chinese Taipei's Meng-Sin Cheng to earn a unanimous verdict.

It was, however, not to be for Aakash Badhwar in men's 50kg and Sarthi Saini (men's 70kg) as their efforts fell short. Badhwar lost 1:4 against Odilshoh Khalimov of Uzbekistan, while Saini went down against China's Haosheng Zhang.

In the last bout of the day for the Indian contingent, Lokesh went down against Norbek Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in the 80kg category.

India has sent a total of 40 promising youngsters to the Asian U19 and U22 Boxing Championships. Spanning until August 12, the tournament will bring together 396 boxers from 26 nations, making it one of the premier stages for emerging talent across the continent.

The tournament is being held at the iconic Indoor Stadium Huamark, and the event is being organised by the Asian Boxing Association in association with World Boxing and the Thailand Boxing Association.

It featured two age groups, U19 (born between 2007 and 2008) and U22 (born between 2004 and 2006), with both men and women competing under Olympic-style boxing rules.

- ANI