Punia (+81kg) was guaranteed a medal due to the presence of just three boxers in her draw. The Indian will face local favourite Mihaela Nikolova for a place in the final where Russia's Anna Ivanova has got a direct entry.
On the other hand, Sarita (60kg), a former world and Asian champion who fetched a silver at last month's India Open, defeated Italian Manchese Conceha in a split 3-2 verdict to enter the quarterfinals.
"Pinki fought exceptionally well and to my mind, she should have been the winner," Indian women's boxing's High Performance Director Raffaele Bergamasco told PTI.
Just a win away from ensuring herself a medal was the celebrated Mary Kom (48kg), who is coming here on the back of back-to-back gold at the Asian Championships and last month's India Open.
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She will face Romanian legend Steluta Duta, a three-time silver-medallist at the World Championships and a four-time gold-winner at the European Championships, in her opening contest.
In the men's draw, former world bronze-medallist and Asian silver-winner Shiva Thapa (60kg) got a bye into the pre-quarters and will face Kazakhstan's Adilet Kurmetov in his opening bout on Wednesday. Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg) also got a bye into the last-eight stage.
Last edition's silver-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) will open his campaign against China's Xu Boaxiang.
2010 Asian Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) will be returning to action after recovering from a hand injury and will clash against Morocco's Mustafa El Gharabi in a pre-quarterfinal contest.
Among the prominent Indian names in the women's draw, World and Asian silver-medallist Sonia Lather is awaited by China's Xu Zichun in the opening round of the featherweight (57kg) division.
Former World Championships silver-medallist Saweety Boora (75kg) will square off against American Leah Cooper in the quarterfinals, while India Open gold-medallist Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) has to go past Norway's Elisabeth Angelsen for a place in the semifinals.
The tournament, an annual affair in the European boxing calendar, features 94 women and 143 men this time.
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