CHENNAI: Shiva Thapa is one win away from a fourth medal at the Asian Boxing Championship. The 25-year-old from Assam reached the 60kg quarterfinals in Bangkok on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Seitbek Uulu. Thapa had won gold in 2013, bronze in 2015 and silver in 2017.
According to information received here, five Indians entered the last eight on Sunday. Amit Panghal will face Olympic champion Hasanboy Dustamov in the 52kg division. He had beaten the Uzbek boxer earlier this year. In 69kg, Ashish beat Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov of Kyrgyzstan 4-1. Sarita Devi (60kg) and Nikhat Zareen (51kg) were the others to reach the quarterfinals.
The only disappointment for India was the defeat of Brijesh Yadav in 81kg. His opponent Dilshodbek Ruzmetov of Uzbekistan was declared winner after the Indian received a cut in the second round. It necessitated termination of the bout and the judges ruled that the Uzbek had won 4-0.
On Monday, 2018 World Championships silver medallist Sonia Chahal (57kg) will face North Korea’s Jo Son Hwa in the quarterfinals. Lovlina Borgohain, who secured a bronze at the World Championships, will take on Chinese Taipei’s world champion Chen Nien-Chin. In the men’s section, Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) will be in action, with Deepak (49kg) and veteran Seema Poonia (+81kg).