GREATER NOIDA: Reigning world champ Meenakshi Hooda, Preeti Pawar, Ankush Phangal and Narender Berwal powered India to a flawless opening as all four secured medals with dominant wins on the opening day of the World Boxing Cup Finals.
With the tournament restricted to only the world's top-eight pugilists in each category, the Indian quartet swept through the opening round to enter the last-four stage, guaranteeing podium finishes at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex.
Reigning world champ Meenakshi (48kg) set the tone early, dictating a high-tempo bout against Kazakhstan's Bolat Akbota from the opening bell through clean and accurate punching. Preeti (54kg) followed with an equally electrifying display using quick feet and sharp combos to overwhelm Uzbekistan's Nigina Uktamova — a former youth world champ — in a fully attacking performance.
Later, Ankush (80kg) produced one of the day's most composed performances, soaking up early pressure before shifting gears with clever combination play. Finding openings with precision, he landed telling blows to keep Japan's Go Wakaya at bay en route to a unanimous win. In the 90+kg division, Narender delivered a gritty performance — pushing through a cut above his eye with disciplined defence and powerful body-head combinations to secure a strong 4:1 victory over Ukraine's Andrii Khaletskyi.