By IANS
Chicago : India’s Suresh Soubham Singh bowed out in the preliminary round of the bantam (54 kg) category on the opening day of the World Boxing Championship.
Suresh lost 4-9 to Hungary’s David Oltvanyi in the preliminary round at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion here Tuesday.
Some of the bigger names also suffered on the opening day, as Asian Games and 2004 Olympic gold medallist Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand lost to Masatsugu Kawachi of Japan 9-14 in a 64 kg light welterweight match.
Among other first-day bouts, 2004 Olympic bronze medallist George Ionut of Romania won a walkover over Rafael Gonzalez of Venezuela while Ali Hallab of France won 31-21 over Detelin Dalakliev of Bulgaria in a battle of fellow former World Championships bronze medallists.
On the opening day, 51 enthralling bouts were completed with nine bouts in the 54 kg bantamweight and 62 contests in the 64 kg light welterweight divisions.
Two rings in action at the same time made for a wonderful spectacle with boxing legend Muhammad Ali making a special guest appearance.