Indian pugilists made a resounding start in the fifth Commonwealth Championship with Praveen Kumar winning the bronze and six others advancing to the medal rounds of the event in Liverpool, England.
The Indian was thoroughly outpunched by Englishman D Price in the semis before referee stopped the contest in the second round.
World Cadet champion Sunil Kumar thrashed Sri Lankan TB Harsha Kumara in the 51kg category while T Nanao Singh also outscored Canadian P Butler in the 48kg category to enter the last-four stage.
In the 54kg event, Santosh Singh beat Sri Lanka’s MDK Wanniarachchi 24-5 and meets Australian L Boyd in semifinals.
Manjit Singh (75kg) and Pramoj Kumar (81kg) also advanced to the semis with easy wins. Manjit outclassed Canada’s R Reitti 22-10 and Pramoj defeated Mauritius’ R Prosper 16-8.