Following a successful opening day, Indian boxers enjoyed a fantastic Day 2, with Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Jadumani Singh (50kg), Sumit Kundu (75kg), Hitesh Gulia (70kg), and Naveen Kumar (90kg) winning their respective quarterfinal bouts, assuring five more medals for India.
Japan’s Sewon Okazawa, also known as a dancing boxer, has long been the kind of welterweight who delivers repeated heartbreaks to Indian boxing fans. Whether it was stopping Nishant Dev in the Asian Games quarterfinals or denying Vikas Krishan in the opening round of the Tokyo Olympics, Indian boxers have always found him a tough nut to crack.
On Monday at Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Hitesh flipped the script, registering the biggest win of his career. The Indian delivered an impressive performance, punching past Okazawa (a former World Champion and 2022 Asian Games champion) in a thrilling quarterfinal bout, causing a massive upset in front of the home crowd. Hitesh won 3–2 via split decision, marching into the semifinals and confirming his medal at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025.
“I’m feeling good. Beating an Olympian and current World Championship medallist is a big confidence boost for me,” said Hitesh, who started his year with a gold at the World Cup in Brazil. “It was tough to beat him, but I used my mind and stayed calm till the last second, and that helped me win.”
Coming off a loss in his opening bout at the World Championships in Liverpool last month, Hitesh didn’t want a repeat of the same result in front of the home crowd.
“I didn’t want the same fate here,” he said. “The second round was tough, but I didn’t play the game Okazawa wanted. I relied on my own tactics and went on the attack in the last round because that’s how you tackle someone with fast footwork – you can’t stay defensive all the time.”
Another stunning performance came from Pawan in the 55kg category. The Mike Tyson admirer delivered an impressive performance, defeating Brazil World Cup gold medallist Altynbek Nursultan of Kazakhstan via a 5–0 unanimous decision.
“Nursultan is a good boxer,” said the 26-year-old Indian. “He was a champion at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil this year. I was nervous at the beginning, but this tournament is taking place in our country, in front of our crowd, and that gave me confidence. This is my first international medal, and I am extremely proud.”
In the 50kg category, Jadumani secured a dominant victory over Kazakhstan’s Nurzat Ongarov. Sumit (75kg) got the better of Kim Hyeontae of South Korea, while heavyweight powerhouse Naveen beat Kazakhstan’s Tangatar Bekzat 5–0 to make it five out of five wins for India.
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