Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gaurav Solanki (57kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament after a facile opening round victory in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday.
The Indian pugilist was in control from the start as he blanked Arapov Aidos of Kazakhstan 5-0.
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.
Lather will take on local favourite Surmeneli Tugcenaz in the second round.
Meanwhile, three other Indian pugilists suffered defeat in their respective opening bouts.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Naman Tanwar went down 4-1 to Turkey's Baki Yalcin Muhammed in the men's 91 kg, while P L Prasad lost to Kazakhstan's Abdikadyr Damir 5-0 in the 52 kg category.
Prayag Chavhan (men's 75kg) and Pooja (women's 75kg) also fell short against Azerbaijan's Sahsuvarli Karman and Russia's Shamonova Anastasia respectively.
On the second day of the event, six more Indian boxers will be seen in action as they begin their campaign. World Championships bronze medallist Shiva Thapa (63kg), Duryodhan Negi (69kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Kishan Sharma (+91kg) will compete in the men's category while Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Parveen (60kg) will be seen in women's.
A 13-member Indian boxing contingent, including eight men and five women, is participating in the tournament, which is scheduled from March 15-21 and have strong competition with the presence of top boxing nations, like Russia, Argentina and Kazakhstan.
