The competition, open to male boxers born in 1998 and 1999, is taking place at the 7,000-capacity venue.

Wang looked in ominous form for the duration of his bout against Romanian Alexandru Popescu in the men's lightweight 60 kilogram competition.

Despite the contest going the distance, it was the Chinese competitor who advanced after he was awarded a unanimous victory by the judges.

Joining him in the next round of the 60kg event was Zoravor Petrosian of Ukraine who also was awarded a comprehensive win by the judges over Englishman Daniel Stringer.

In a slightly higher weight category, Moreno Fendero of France squeezed through to the next stage of the 75kg event after he claimed a split decision victory over Canadian Jake Daoust.

Following Fendero through was William Hutchison of Scotland who crept through in the 75kg tournament ahead of Lenar Perez Fransua of Cuba.

After neither boxer could seal the win in what proved to be a relatively equal bout, the decision came down to the officials and they sided with Hutchison on a split decision.

Meanwhile, Pavlo Gula of Ukraine secured one of the very few wins by stoppage today.

Midway through the second round of Gula's contest with Mauritius' Allan Makair in the 69kg welterweight competition, referee Pavel Pavlov was forced to call time on the contest, securing the Ukrainian's place in the next round.

In the same weight category Slovakia's Andre Csemez secured a split decision win over Ireland's Brett McGinty while Azerbaijan's Parviz Guliyev advanced over Bryan Polaco of Puerto Rico by the same scoreline.

The event in Saint Petersburg is due to continue with further preliminary round action tomorrow.