JOIN USHowever, there was some disappointment as well with Gaurav Bidhuri crashing out of the light fly weight category following a 4-8 loss to Bagdat Uaidayev of Kazakhstan.
Sandeep was the first to take the ring for India today against Aliaksei Hohleu of Belarus. The Indian started off cautiously with the opening round ending 1-1.
Sandeep went on the offensive in the second round and notched up eight points against Hohleu's two. With a cushion of seven points, Sandeep didn't toil much in the third round and secured the bout 11-3.
"We told him to take it easy in the third round because too much aggression can lead to an injury. He is a left-hander and that gives him an added advantage," Indian coach M S Dhaka said from Yerevan.
Namit then ensured the second medal for India with a hard-fought 7-5 win over Turkey's Bulut Haykir.
The Indian led 3-1 in the first round but Haykir fought back to reduce the gap and make it 5-4 in the second round. In an edge-of-the-seat third round, Namit nosed ahead with a couple of scoring blows.
"The Turkish guy was very defensive and was playing it safe. Once he managed to reduce the points gap, I told Namit to keep his guard in the decider. The tactic paid off as Namit managed to break his opponent's defence a couple of times to win the bout," Dhaka explained.
Shiva, on the other hand, had an easy bout against Makhlin Stanislav of Israel.
The Manipuri was leading 5-1 before landing a hard right hook to leave Makhlin's nose bleeding which prompted the referee to stop the contest in the first round itself.