The stage was set for 2019 world championship silver medallist Amit Panghal to redeem himself after a nightmarish Olympic campaign.
The diminutive southpaw showed on Monday he is not a spent force, scoring a dominating 5-0 win over lesser-known Namri Berri of Vanuatu to enter the quarterfinals of the 51kg flyweight category in Birmingham.
Also making it to the last eight stages were Mohammed Hussamuddin and debutant Sagar Ahlawat in the men's 57kg featherweight and 92kg+ heavyweight categories, respectively. However, it was curtains for national champion Sumit Kundu, who went down to Australian Callum Peters by a 0-5 unanimous verdict in the men's 75kg middleweight pre-quarterfinal bout late on Sunday night.
Panghal's speed and agility left the inexperienced Namri searching for answers throughout the 51kg bout. With an advantage of height and a longer reach, Namri came up with a few impressive blows in the opening round, only for Amit to dodge each with absolute finesse. He retaliated with a few scoring punches to pocket the opening round comfortably.
Berri's punches either lacked power or missed the target as Amit's nimble footwork was on full display in the second round. It appeared that the diminutive southpaw was warming himself up for the tougher bouts ahead, as he explored all angles to execute his jabs and combination punches to be awarded full points.
