Former Asian Games gold medalist Vikas Krishan gave India's boxing campaign in Rio the perfect starting, as he beat USA's Charles Conwell to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Vikas, 24, defeated the debutant Conwell 3-0 in his opening contest, which came alive only in the final three minutes. Conwell, who walked in to hostile boos from the local crowd, struggled to launch an attack on the Indian in the opening round. Vikas, on the other hand, used his right straights and upper cuts to good effect in the first three minutes.
Vikas dropped his guard quite early in the bout but Conwell's attempts at capitalising on it did not quite work out, as he landed into a well-laid trap by Vikas, who was more than happy to counterattack.
Vikas seemed more assured in the second round and concentrated on breaking down Conwell's defence by targeting his torso. Although the judges were divided in awarding the round to him, Vikas had done enough to secure himself the handy lead going into the final round.
After fetching two cautions for bending excessively in the first two rounds, Conwell gathered himself in the final three minutes to land a couple of crisp jabs but his effort was too little too late The final round ended up being tied between the two boxers, but Vikas emerged triumphant on the back of his strong showing in the first two rounds.
Vikas will now face Turkey's Sipal Onder on Saturday.
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Manoj Kumar will open his campaign against Lithuania's Evaldas Petrauskas on Wednesday.