Manoj Kumar defeated Lithuania's Evaldas Petrauskas 2-1 to progress to the round of 16 in the men's Light Welterweight (64 kg) category of boxing at the Olympics on Wednesday. The 29-year-old won the first two rounds and lost the last one, but this was enough to take him through.
In a close bout, the 28-year-old from Haryana managed to neutralise his opponent's aggression, edging the first two rounds with scores of 29-28 in both. Petrauskas, a bronze medallist in the 2012 Olympics, hit back to win the last round with an identical scoreline, but Kumar emerged a 2-1 winner.
He will face Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in the next round on Sunday.
