World boxing championships | India’s Pawan Bartwal, Sakshi Chaudhary and Sanamacha Chanu record wins on Day 1

Pawan Bartwal, Sakshi Chaudhary and Sanamacha Chanu recorded impressive wins as India began its campaign on a positive note at the World boxing championships, being organised under the banner of World Boxing for the first time, in Liverpool on Thursday (September 4, 2025).

Bartwal (55kg) beat Brazilian Michael Douglas Da Silva Trindade 3-2 in an intensely fought contest. Among women, two-time World youth champion Sakshi (54kg) outslugged Ukraine’s Viktoriia Shkeul with the referee stopping the contest in the second round, while another World youth gold medallist Sanamacha (70kg) defeated Denmark’s Dittie Frostholm 4-1.

In a fast exchange, Bartwal relied on his accurate shots to take a 3-2 lead in the first round.

Trindade raised the tempo by showcasing his range. Bartwal executed his solid and well-directed blows as the two were locked 2-2 in the second round.

Trindade switched stances and threw a barrage of punches, but the Indian remained unruffled. In the final minute, Bartwal connected a good volume of clean shots to impress four of the five judges.

“Pawan relied on his willpower to win and gave it his all in such a tough fight. Being from the armed forces, he is not the one to go on the back-foot. He will meet another strong opponent in his next bout,” said men’s head coach Dharmendra Yadav on the first bout by an Indian in the elite event.

Bartwal will meet Asian Games bantamweight gold medallist Uzbek Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov next.

Sakshi used her long range and fine footwork to move in and out of Viktoriia’s reach. The Indian won the first round 5-0 because of her clear head shots. Three standing counts on the Ukrainian resulted in Sakshi’s win as she set up a pre-quarterfinal clash with Turkey’s Olympics silver medallist Hatice Akbas.

The taller Sanamacha closed the gap to land powerful shots and beat the experienced Dittie. Sanamacha will face World Cup-2 winner Kazakh Natalya Bogdanova.