Indian boxing's pin-up boys Vijender Singh and Jai Bhagwan set the ring ablaze with dominating performances on their way to the pre-quarterfinals at the Olympics here.
Beijing Games bronze medalist Vijender Singh (75kg) out-punched Kazakhstan's Danabek Sukhanov 14-10 in the middleweight category late Saturday night, before Bhagwan outclassed Andrique Allisop of Seychelles 18-8 in the lightweight (60kg) at the ExCel arena on Sunday.
Their passage to the next stage made up for Shiva Thapa's first-round exit on Saturday.
Touted as a serious medal contender, 26-year-old Vijender was a trifle cautious in the first round as he did not go for the attacking mode, preferring to gauge his opponent's strategy but opened up subsequently to carve out a comfortable win.
"I am delighted to make it through to the next round, he was a tough opponent and now its on to the next challenge," said Vijender.
"I want to go home with a different coloured medal this time," he added.
The Haryana boxer was tactically superior to his opponent and also put his reach to good use to keep himself on course for a second Olympic medal.
Although he was generally defensive in the first round, Vijender did unleash a few punches to take the honours with a 5-4 margin.
{{/usCountry}}Although he was generally defensive in the first round, Vijender did unleash a few punches to take the honours with a 5-4 margin.
{{/usCountry}}Vijender, who also won the gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou after a flop show at home in Delhi Commonwealth Games earlier in that year, had a decisive edge in the first round.
He put up an even more dominating show in the second round which he took with a 4-3 verdict and consolidated his position in the third and final round to eventually emerge victorious without really being under any serious pressure.