Jitender was in sublime form as he outpointed Iran's Ali Darwish 11-2 to save the blushes for the six-member Indian team on a day when Bhushan Saini and Mohd Ali Qamar lost in their first bouts.

Saini was outpointed 6-2 by Thailand's S Jakkrit in the preliminary round while SAF Games champion Qamar, who got a first round bye, lost to China's Yang Xianhong 9-16 in the pre-quarter finals.

Star pugilist Ramanand was the other Indian who came out unscathed as he made it to the quarter-finals in lightweight category with an easy 5-3 victory over China's Tomg Deren in a keenly contested bout late last night.

Bhushan began the bout well and matched the Thai boxer on equal terms in first round. However, much to his dismay he was awarded no points in the round and Jakkrit led by a point going into thesecond round.

The Indian lost some points in the second round and then could not recover as he went down to an inexperienced boxer.

Throughout the bout Jitender's height advantage was visible and he used his superior jab with the right hand to constantly score points and unsettle his opponent.