The home fans were treated to a masterclass from Zareen before Sakshi, Nupur and Preeti followed with emphatic opening-round victories at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in Indian capital New Delhi where Russia tasted defeat on their return to the event.

Zareen struck gold in the flyweight division at last year's World Championships but has now dropped a weight class in a bid to prepare for next year’s Olympics in Paris.

Competing in the under-50 kilograms category which will feature at Paris 2024, Zareen made a statement with a win by stoppage in the first bout of the event.

Anakhanim Ismayilova of Azerbaijan went to the referee's count on three occasions before Nikhat was awarded the victory to advance to the second round of the light flyweight category.

Sakshi was the next Indian through as she sent Jose Martinez Henao of Colombia rocking with a series of clean shots in her flyweight triumph.

Henao managed to battle on after surviving one count but lost convincingly as Sakshi thrilled her supporters.

Nupur was just as dominant as she overpowered Abiola Jackman of Guyana to reach the last eight of the heavyweight division.

The day was capped for India when Preeti swept aside Hanna Lakotar of Hungary in a brutal display of heavy hitting to win by stoppage in her bantamweight opener.

India enjoyed the most wins on day one, while Mongolia, France and China claimed three victories each.

Chinese heavyweight Lu Zheng produced an impressive performance to thump Thi Phuong Hoai Nguyen of Vietnam by unanimous decision.

It was also all one-way traffic for Wu Yu, who saw off Antonia Giannakopoulou of Greece, while Li Yijie ensured China’s third win by overcoming double Pacific Games champion Jennifer Chieng of Micronesia.

France's triple success came courtesy of Romane Moulai, Delphine Mancini and Wassila Lkhadiri in the respective flyweight, bantamweight and light flyweight divisions.

There was also a hat-trick of wins for Mongolia as Yesugen Oyuntsetseg, Enkhjargal Munguntsetseg and Mungunsaran Balsan came out on top in the respective flyweight, bantamweight and light flyweight classes.

The opening day also marked the return of Russia and Belarus to the Women's World Championships after the IBA controversially lifted the ban on the two countries in contrary to the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations.

Russian flags were displayed in the crowd when Anna Aedma came out for her first-round fight in the flyweight division only for those fans to be silenced by Australia’s Monique Suraci.

Australia are part of the Common Cause Alliance (CCA) of nations seeking to prioritise the preservation of boxing's place at the Olympics from Los Angeles 2028.

But Boxing Australia chose not to follow other CCA members in boycotting the event over the presence of Russian and Belarusian boxers.

Suraci seized her opportunity, recovering from losing the first round to beat Aedma by split decision to seal Australia's first win.

Belarus, who were also featuring at the IBA's flagship event for the first time since 2019 after being denied the chance to fight at the 2022 edition, were victorious.

Yuliya Apanasovich edged Ana Maria Alexandra Gheorghe of Romania in a closely-fought first round before upping the ante to seal the win by split decision.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow.