Experienced ace Shiva Thapa is two wins away from national glory. In action against Ankit Narwal in the quarterfinals of the ongoing men’s national boxing championships, the five-time Asian Championships medallist showed his mettle to win a thrilling contest.
Showing some nifty footwork, Thapa used all his experience to put pressure on Narwal, representing Railway Sports Promotion Board’s (RSPB), to record a 4-1 win in the 63.5kg contest at IIS in Bellary, on Sunday. Mohammad Hussamuddin, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, also kept up his good run, beating Rushikesh Gaud of Maharashtra. Hussamuddin entered the 57kg semifinals.
Sachin (54kg) and Varinder Singh (60kg), both representing RSPB, also entered the semifinals. Sachin put up a dominating performance (5-0) to get the better of Roshan Zamir of Goa. Varinder matched Sachin’s performance, beating Inderjit Singh with identical score. Uttar Pradesh’s Ravi Kumar (48kg) was another boxer who notched up a win on the day to enter last four. Ravi was the aggressor and dominated his contest against Santosh Pradhan of Odisha. Ravi was so dominant that the referee was forced to stop the contest. Reigning youth world champion Sachin, Vijay Kumar (60kg), Rajpinder Singh (54kg) also progressed.