Bangkok, Apr 19 (PTI) Indian boxers were off to a good start in the Asian Championships claiming two pre-quarterfinals berths in the opening session of the continental showpiece here Friday.

National champion Deepak (49kg) and Rohit Tokas (64kg) advanced to the last-16 stage with confident victories.

Deepak defeated Vietnam's Loi Bui Cong Danh, fetching a unanimous verdict from the judges before Rohit put it past Taiwan's Chu-Yen Lai with a similar scoreline.

Deepak kept it simple and focussed on hitting straight to ensure clean and impactful punches. Danh wasn't particularly a pushover but lacked power in his attacks, not to mention the poor precision.

Rohit Tokas (64kg) was up against a more aggressive one in Lai but he hardly broke a sweat to advance.

The Indian, a winner of three King's Cup bronze medals here, literally toyed with his rival, who seemed under-prepared for bout.

Lai was cautioned several times for failing to keep his head up. He went for the jugular in the last three minutes but Rohit thwarted him with a smart defensive strategy that involved keeping the opponent at arm's length and avoiding the corners.

(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)