India were off to a fine start in the World Men's Boxing Championships. Brijesh Yadav (81kg) out-punched Poland's Maleusz Goinski in an opening-round contest in Ekaterinburg, Russia today.

With today's win, Yadav advanced to the round of 32 where he will square off against Turkey's Bayram Malkan, who got a first-round bye. The bout is scheduled for Sunday.

Three Indian boxers Amit Panghal (52kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) have received first-round byes in their categories.

The World Championships feature more than 450 boxers from 87 countries. It is meant to be an Olympic qualifier but the administrative mess in the International Boxing Association prompted the International Olympic Committee to strip it of that status.