Pawan Bartwal stuns Kazakhstan’s Nursultan as India secures seven medals in boxing

India’s Pawan Bartwal shocked Kazakhstan’s Altynbek Nursultan with a 5-0 win to claim his first international medal at Greater Noida. Sumit and Naveen also posted dominant victories, taking India’s tally to seven guaranteed medals at the elite boxing event

Hyderabad: India’s Pawan Bartwal (55kg) produced the biggest upset of the tournament so far, outclassing second seed and World Cup Brazil gold medallist Altynbek Nursultan of Kazakhstan with a commanding 5-0 victory to secure his first international medal at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida on Monday.

His breakout performance led another flawless day for India, with Sumit (75kg) and Naveen (90kg) also posting dominant wins to swell the host nation’s tally to seven guaranteed medals.

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For Pawan, the moment was 15 years in the making. Having begun boxing in the 2010s and quietly risen through the ranks, the Services boxer erupted onto the world stage spectacularly. Cheered on by an energetic home crowd, he displayed exceptional defensive discipline, clever tempo control and superb endurance, repeatedly pushing Nursultan, the second seed in the weight category, onto the ropes while picking clean openings. Pawan’s poised, calculated performance marked one of India’s finest victories in the opening rounds of this elite eight-only global event.

“Nursultan is a good boxer, he was a champion at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil this year. I was nervous at the beginning, but this tournament is taking place in our country, in front of our crowd, and that gave me confidence. This is a hugely significant tournament in my career. This is my first international medal, and I am extremely proud,” Pawan said after his bout.

Sumit followed Pawan’s lead with an equally assured 5-0 win over Korea’s Kim Hyeon-tae in the 75kg quarterfinals. A sharp punch to the face early in the bout set the tone for a relentless display, combining aggression with tactical control. He pressed forward throughout, dictating the exchanges and forcing Kim into survival mode as the verdict became a formality.

Naveen, a Strandja 2024 medallist, completed the trio of wins with a composed and intelligent performance against Kazakhstan’s Bekzat Tangatar. Leveraging his height and reach to perfection, he kept Tangatar at bay while landing crisp scoring blows from distance. After an evenly contested opening round, Naveen grew stronger as the bout progressed, using swift movement and disciplined footwork to pull away decisively for another unanimous Indian victory.

In the session’s other results, Taiwan’s Olympic medallist Wu Shih-Yi delivered one of the standout wins of the session, dominating Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova 5-0 in the women’s 57kg division. In the men’s 55kg and 75kg brackets, Uzbekistan’s Samandar Olimov, England’s Ellis Trowbridge and Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Abdurakhimov advanced, while Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Poland also secured key victories across the afternoon session.