Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Nupur Sheoran (80+kg) and Parveen (60kg), along with men’s boxers Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Ankush Phangal (men’s 80kg) and Narender Berwal (90+kg) sealed their spots in the finals with wins.
There were setbacks for India too, with Saweety Boora (women’s 75kg) bowing out after a loss to Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree, while Naveen concluded his campaign with a bronze in the men’s 90kg boxing event.
Preeti, 22, seized control from the opening seconds, edging the first round with sharp counterpunches before turning up the tempo in the second. She cut off angles, disrupted Huang’s rhythm and denied the Olympic medallist any foothold in the contest. A crisp one-two in the final round underlined her authority and capped a career-defining 4-0 win.
“I knew she was a world champion but to become a world champion, you must beat a world champion,” Preeti said afterwards. “My mindset was to give my 100 per cent and win in front of the home crowd. The last bout and the support I received gave me the confidence to come here and give everything.”
Arundhati Choudhary produced one of the tournament’s most commanding displays, stopping Germany’s Leonie Muller – a medallist at all three stages of the 2025 World Boxing Cup – via RSC (Referee Stops Contest).
Returning after a break of 18 months, the former youth world champion showed no rust. Arundhati dominated the first two rounds with clean, sustained aggression, dropped Müller in the second and finished the job with another knockdown in the third.
World champion Minakshi Hooda eked out a clinical 5:0 win over Republic of Korea’s Bak Cho-rong, blending tight defence with sharp, accurate scoring shots across all three rounds.
World Boxing Cup medallist Abhinash Jamwal opened his campaign in style, outclassing Ukraine’s Elvin Aliiev, while Narender Berwal (90+kg) overpowered Kazakhstan’s Daniyal Saparbay.
Ankush added another unanimous 5:0 win, overwhelming Australia’s Marlon Sevehon with pace and pressure.
Nupur Sheoran maintained India’s charge with a dominant win over Ukraine’s Mariia Lovchynska, controlling every round. Parveen delivered one of the day’s standout upsets, edging Poland’s Aneta Rygielska 3-2.
Nine Indians will be in action on Wednesday, headlined by two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (women’s 51kg) against Uzbekistan’s Gulsevar Ganieva and reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg) taking on Kazakhstan’s Ulzhan Sarsenbek.
Also in the ring will be Neeraj Phogat (65kg), Jadumani Singh (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Jugnoo (85kg), Sachin (60kg), Sumit (75kg) and Hitesh (70kg).