Indian boxers Nitu (48kg) and Manisha (57kg) advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Saturday.
Nitu, making her debut at the event, earned a comprehensive 5-0 over Spain's Marta Lopez Del Arbol to progress to the last-eight stage, while Manisha eked out a 4-1 win over Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria to advance to the featherweight quarterfinals.
Nitu, a two-time Youth World Champion, displayed her technical prowess as she maintained the upper hand through out the bout. The 21-year-old used her long reach to good effect as she sealed a commanding win. The reigning national champion will next face Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova in the quarterfinal on Monday.
Manisha, the 2019 Asian Championships bronze medallist, was engaged in a draining and messy bout which had its fair share of clinching, holding and even some tumbling over in the ring. The 24-year-old will next face tough challenge from Youth World bronze medallist Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia in the quarterfinal on Monday.
Six Indian boxers will be in action in their respective round-of-16 bouts on Sunday. Nikhat Zareen (52kg) and Shiksha (54kg) will face Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg and Youth Asian bronze medallist Yesugen Oyuntsetseg, respectively, whereas Parveen will take on former Youth Olympic champion Jajaira Gonzalez of USA.
Anamika (50kg) will square off against World Championships bronze medallist Kristy Lee Harris of Australia, while Jaismine (60kg) will be up against Australia's Angela Harries. Ankushita (66kg), who won the 2017 Youth World Championships, will begin her campaign against Poland's Aneta Rygielska.