India's campaign at the World Boxing Championships in Chicago got off to a disappointing start with S Suresh Singh crashing out in the opening round of the bantam weight category.
Suresh, a reigning national champion, was beaten 4-9 by Hungarian David Oltvanyi on the opening day of the meet, which is also the first qualifying event for next year's Beijing Olympics.
Making the quarterfinals of the showpiece event would be enough to earn an Olympic qualification.
The Indians, who are also competing in seven other categories, are up against a formidable field in the biggest ever championship, which has over 120 countries and 700 boxers.
One of the best bets for India would be Commonwealth Games silver medallist and Doha Asian Games bronze winner Vijender. But the Arjuna awardee middle weight pugilist has a challenging task at hand as he bids to book a Beijing berth.