CWG: World No 1 Vijender storms into quarters

India's Vijender Singh got off to a smashing start in the men's boxing event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, on Friday.

The world number one boxer was no match for his Kenyan opponent Dick Ombaka as he raced to a 16-1 lead before the referee stopped the bout mid-way into the second round in the middleweight 75-kg category.

A crowd favourite, the Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Vijender dominated right from the start and took a 10-1 lead in the first round. He used his reach to good effect and his punches were right on target leaving the Kenyan gasping.

But in the second round he adopted a more aggressive approach. He found his range, again, in the second round and landed quite a few heavy punches on his hapless opponent.

It was only a matter of time before the referee decided to halt the contest and rule the bout in Vijender's favour.

After the bout, Vijender reflected on his easy victory and said this bout was more about preparing himself for the coming rounds.

"I used my height to good advantage. In the first round, I was a bit defensive because I was trying to gauge my opponent," Vijender said.

"But in the second round, I was a bit more aggressive. Thank God, I finished it in the second round so I could save some energy for the upcoming bouts," he added.

In the quarter-finals,Vijender will face Elias Nashivela of Namibia.

Nashivela beat Albert Blaize of Dominica in his pre-quarter-final bout.

A full house cheered on Vijender at the Talkatora Indoor stadium and Vijender admitted that he felt the pressure initially.

"I knew it would be a sell-out turnout for me and when I walked in, it was quite intimidating to see so many people. Mr Rahul Gandhi was there in the audience, so it was obviously very special," he quipped.

Earlier in the day, Asian silver-medallist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) became the fourth Indian boxer to book a berth in the quarter-finals after defeating Tanzania's Nasser Mafuru 11-2.

Jai joined Amandeep Singh (49kg), Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Manoj Kumar, who won their pre-quarterfinal bouts on Thursday, in the last-eight stage.

"My height worked to my advantage. His energy was remarkable and I had to be on my guard all the time to avoid getting hit," said Jai.

Dilbag's was the last bout of the afternoon session and the unorthodox nine-time national champion made his often wild swings count by notching up an 11--3 triumph over Trinidad's Aaron Prince.

The 29-year-old, considered a veteran in the national boxing circles, is just one win away from bagging perhaps the biggest medal of his career.

"From the way Dilbag fights, he comes across slightly naive but he has the power in his punches," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.

Dilbag will now face Botswana's Moabi Mothiba, who defeated Godfrey Mumba of Zambia 7-1.

Indian boxers have so far been unbeaten in the competition and on Saturday, Manpreet Singh (91kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and defending champion Akhil Kumar (56kg) will fight their pre-quarterfinal bouts, while Amandeep (49kg) and Suranjoy Singh (52kg) will fight for a semi-final berth, which would assure them of at least a bronze in the competition.