Zareen caused a major upset on the second day of the tournament on Wednesday when she out-punched the Russian boxer 5-0.
India, on the other hand, finished runners-up twice in 2010 and 2014 editions.
In the lightweight (57-60kg) division, Jasmine will feature straight in the quarter-finals after getting a first round bye.
Shiva Thapa (60kg) won a place in India's boxing team for the Asian Games after winning in the trials, while Sarjubala Devi clinched the 51kg spot in the women's squad -- a category that was thrown open after M C Mary Kom pulled out of the equation due to a shoulder problem.
India had delivered its best ever Asian Championship performance in the 2019 edition in Thailand, claiming 13 medals, including two gold, four silver and seven bronze.
Jeremy stamps class on CWG debut, India climb to sixth in medal table
India's boxer Nikhat Zareen stunned two-time World champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan to enter the women's 51kg semi-finals at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul, on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday, met the Indian athletes who will represent the country at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and wished them luck.
Earlier, another debutant Rohit Mor (57kg) gave India a winning start by sailing past Ecuador's Jean Caicedo 5-0 in a confident opening-round performance on Tuesday. Next up for him is Bosnia and Herzegovina's Alen Rahimic.
World Championships bronze medallist Sonia Lather also kickstarted her campaign on a winning note. The Haryana pugilist dominated Rosorio Milogros of Argentina for a 5-0 victory in the women's 57 kg category.
'I was determined to return with a medal from the World Championships.'
Varinder had to pull out of his 60kg category bout due to high fever but he tested negative for COVID-19.
Aiming to secure berths in the world championship squad, close to 400 boxers, including the likes of five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa and former world bronze-winner Gaurav Bidhuri, will be competing in the National Men's Championships starting in Bellary on Wednesday.
Gaurav Solanki (57kg), Prayag Chouhan (75kg) and Brijesh Yadav (81kg) tested positive for the virus
Debutant Akash Kumar (54kg) signed off with a bronze medal in the AIBA men's World Boxing Championships after losing to Kazakhstan teenager Makhmud Sabyrkhan in the semi-finals, in Belgrade, on Thursday.
Wildcard entrant Gaurav Bidhuri's remarkable run at the World Boxing Championships ended with a bronze medal on Thursday after he lost his semifinal clash to American Duke Ragan in Hamburg.
He stopped short of saying retirement but India's long-serving national boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has hinted at stepping down from his position after next month's Olympics, saying that he wants to 'rest' post the Rio campaign.
An Olympic quota place pocketed, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) ended his campaign with a silver medal after losing in the final of the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament Qian'an, China on Friday. The 22-year-old Assamese, who is a World Championship bronze-medallist, went down 0-3 to Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in the summit clash. Butdee is the reigning Asian champion. Shiva had booked his ticket to Rio de Janeiro by making the finals yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Kairat Yeraliyev. Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak once again for L Devendro Singh (49kg), who missed a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. The Commonwealth silver-medallist, who lost in the semifinals a day prior, went down in the box-off for the Olympic slot on Friday.
Olympic bronze-medallist and five-time world champion M C Mary Kom on Sunday denied reports that she made disparaging remarks against fellow male boxers like Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumar during a meeting of the national observers in New Delhi.
Nikhat emerges as India's biggest star in a year filled with historic performances
India's boxer Shiva Thapa says throwing caution to the wind and hurting rivals from the very first second is helping him rediscover himself after enduring an erratic season last year.
India experienced mixed fortunes on the second day of the third International 'Republic of Kazakhstan President's Cup' in Almaty, on Thursday. Asian Games silver medallist Manpreet Singh (91kg) and L Devendro Singh (49kg) advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament with resounding victories, but Youth Olympics silver medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) suffered defeats in the quarter-finals.
Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan will be among India's best bets to better both the colour and number of medals at the 19th World Boxing Championships, starting in Hamburg on Friday.
The young Indian boxing of L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg) continued their fine form to enter the finals of the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.
Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh (75 kg) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paramjeet Samota (+91 kg) are among the Indian elite men boxers selected for the Asian Continental Olympics Boxing Qualification tournament to be held at Astana, Kazakhstan from April 5-12.
Why you must ignore the noise that the India growth story is over and still invest in mutual funds and stock markets.
Parupalli Kashyap was the lone bright spot on a disappointing day for India at the London Olympic Games, on Saturday.
The Asian Olympic boxing qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan, did wonders to Vikas Krishan. He did not participate in it, but with three other Indian pugilists -- Shiva Thapa, Sumit Sangwan and Vijender Singh -- booking berths to the London Olympics from the tournament, he got off the media radar.
Olympic-bound Indian boxers Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan started their build-up for the mega-event on a winning note. Both entered the second round of the third International Republic of Kazakhstan President's Cup in Almaty.
Teen boxers Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan struck gold on Thursday, rounding off a brilliant performance by India at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan. The country bagged three berths to the London Games from the tournament to make it an unprecedented seven-strong contingent for the quadrennial extravaganza.
Teenage boxing sensation Shiva Thapa's Olympic debut ended in disappointment. He was spanked by Mexico's Oscar Valdez Fierro in a bantamweight opening round bout at the London Games on Saturday. The 18-year-old Thapa, who was considered a medal hope, was out-punched 9-14 in the much-anticipated bout, as India began their boxing campaign on a losing note at the Excel arena.
Santosh Harijan and Mandeep Jangra registered easy wins to book quarter-final berths, but medal prospect Shiva Thapa pulled out owing to a shoulder injury as Indian boxers enjoyed mixed success at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea.
Manish Kaushik has announced his arrival on the senior scene in grand fashion.
He is the youngest Indian pugilist to qualify for the Olympics but Shiva Thapa was busy trying his hand at athletics and football to start with before catching the phenomenal Mike Tyson on TV charmed him into taking up boxing.
Commonwealth Games heavy weight champion Paramjeet Samota clinched his fifth consecutive gold at the 58th Senior Men's National Boxing Championship after beating Satish Kumar of Services in the finals in Chennai.
The two not only clinched Olympic berths but also gold medals at the Asian qualifying tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.
India will have an unprecedented seven boxers in the Olympic Games after teen sensations Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) earned their London tickets by advancing to the finals in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) inched closer to Olympic qualification but the London dream ended for Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Suranjoy Singh (52kg) who lost in the second round of the Asian Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Olympics-bound Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Shiva Thapa (56kg) assured India of at least two bronze medals at the 43rd men's and women's Boxing Grand Prix after reaching the semi-finals of the event in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic.
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