Of the many things the Indian boxing team has shared over last two years, opening-round success has been common. But India’s bad luck at the the world championships seems to continue — after Asian gold medallist Suranjoy Singh, Manoj Kumar and Jitender Kumar lost their opening bouts, Beijing Olympics quarter-finalist Akhil Kumar became the latest to join the casualty list, going down 16-2 to Dominican Republic’s Roberto Navarro Gonzalez on Thursday.

Seventh seed Akhil seemed to aggravate his wrist injury in the opening round and was never in the game after that. “Roberto completely dominated from the start. I hurt my wrist and was not in form. It does not look like a big injury but I will consult (trainer) Heath Mathews soon,” said Akhil.

Jai Bhagwan had managed to break the jinx by advancing to the second round in the lightweight (60 kg) category late on Wednesday night. The Asian championship silver medallist registered a resounding 10-4 win over Venuzuela’s Angel Rodrigues.

“It was bit frustrating for us. Usually, it is Suranjoy and Nanao who open the campaign as they fight in lighter categories. But I am happy to bring back cheer to the team,” said 23-year-old Bhagwan, who will now take on Irish co-captain Eric Donovan on Friday.