Sonipat, Jul 29 (PTI) Defending champions Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) extended their impressive run at the third Junior Boys National Boxing Championships as seven of their pugilists progressed to the quarter-finals here on Thursday.

Harsh started the proceedings for SSCB with a flawless unanimous victory against Madhya Pradesh's Gaurav Baghel in the 46kg round of 16 bout.

Neeru (48kg), Nikhil (52kg), Ashish (54kg), Vinay Vishwakarma (57kg), Henthoi (60kg) and Preet Malik (63kg) were the other SSCB pugilists who entered the quarter-finals in their respective categories.

Haryana -- the second-placed team of last edition, also had a glorious day with an equal number of boxers making their way into the last-eight stage.

Sahil provided the winning start for his team when he outperformed Punjab's Sumit 5-0 in the 48kg last-16 bout.

The 2019 Asian Schoolboy Championships gold medallist Yashwardhan Singh further extended the momentum and registered unanimous victory against Maharashtra's Huzef Apradh.

Saurabh (50kg), Pankaj Kumar (52kg), Akshat (54kg), Anshul (57kg) and Milan Deswal (63kg) also emerged victorious for Haryana in their respective pre-quarterfinals.

The third edition of junior boys and fourth edition of junior girls nationals, with participation of nearly 500 boxers (298 boys and 201 girls), is significant as the top performers will be selected for the 2021 ASBC youth and junior boxing championships, which is slated to take place in Dubai from August 17 to 31.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)