Astana (Kazakhstan), April 27 (IANS): Youth boxers Aryan (51kg) and Jitesh (54kg) started India’s challenge on a winning note on the opening day of the ASBC Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships 2024 here on Saturday. Both Aryan and Jitesh put up dominating performances throughout their bouts to clinch identical 5-0 victories against Jo Hyeon Woo of South Korea and Chen Yu Chen of Chinese Taipei, respectively.

Other Indian pugilists Jatin (57 kg), Sagar Jakhar (60 kg) and Yashwardhan Singh (63.5 kg) will be in action in the youth category later on Saturday. However, Jadumani Singh M. (51 kg), Akash Gorkha (60 kg), Ajay Kumar (63.5 kg) and Ankush (71 kg) will begin India’s campaign in the U-22 category on Sunday.

The Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti (54 kg), who has already qualified for the Paris Olympics, will kickstart her challenge on Tuesday against Uzbekistan’s Uktamova Nigina in the women’s U-22 category.

The Boxing Federation of India has fielded a 50-member Indian squad for the ongoing prestigious tournament, which has been witnessing high-voltage action with the presence of 390-plus boxers from more than 24 countries, fighting for the medals across 25 weight categories.

The finals for the youth and U-22 categories will be played on May 6 and 7 respectively.