Indian boxers continued to pack a punch at the 21st President's Cup, with Asian Games gold medallist V Santhosh Kumar (64kg) and Jasveer Ahlawat (81kg) advancing to the semi-finals in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

Jasveer, a former national champion, beat Iran Olympian Mohammad Shourain 20-12 on Wednesday, while Santhosh got the better of Japan's [ Images ] Katsuaki Susa 15-7 late Tuesday night.

India [ Images ] is thus assured of three medals after the 18-year-old Gaurav Bidhuri also entered the semi-finals of light-fly 49kg division on Tuesday.

However, it was curtains for South Asian Games gold-medallist Chhote Lal Yadav, who lost the bantamweight 56kg quarter-finals 13-14 to China's Xu Bia Xiang after a thrilling contest.

"All the boxers fought really well. Jasveer was particularly impressive and even though Chhote lost his bout, he gave it his all. Santhosh is a proven performer and he did not disappoint," said team's coach Jagdeep Hooda.

Jasveer was locked 4-4 with Shourain in the opening three minutes before he took a slender one-point lead of 8-7 in the second round.

The final round belonged to the Indian, who said the bout left him completely exhausted.

He will now be up against Australian Damien Hooper, the Commonwealth Games [ Images ] quarter-finalist in the middleweight division who hit the headlines during the event for dropping his pants in front of officials.

"I was drained because my opponent was such a hard-hitter. It was a tough one but in a way it is good as it prepares me for the next round," said Jasveer, whose father was diagnosed with cancer just a few days before he left for tournament.

"If I win a gold, I will dedicate it to my father. I will focus on his treatment after I return to India. It has been hard for me ever since I came to know of his illness and it even affected my training. But my senior Akhil Kumar [ Images ] played a huge role in keeping me motivated," he added.

Santosh Harijan (52kg) and Lakhbir Singh (69kg) are the other two Indian quarter-finalists in the event.

Apart from Chhote, the other Indian boxer to sign off without a medal is 19-year-old Neeraj Goyat, who was competing in his maiden senior international tournament.