Shiva Thapa strikes gold at Asian Boxing Championships

Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) reaffirmed his status as the rising star of Indian boxing as he became the youngest pugilist from the country to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan on Monday.

India, suspended internationally for nearly a year now due to administrative wrangling in the federation, rounded off the campaign with a gold, two silver and a bronze while fighting under the International Boxing Association’s flag.

The silver medals came through L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg), while the bronze was bagged by Manoj Kumar (64kg). The 19-year-old from Assam, defeated home favourite Obada Alkabeh on a split decision of 2-1 after fighting out a tactically superior bout. 

The nimble-footed boxer, who made his Olympic debut in London last year, thus followed Suranjoy Singh (2009) and Rajkumar Sangwan (1994) into the history books as a rare Indian gold-medallist at the premier continental event. ‘Shiva fought an excellent bout. He applied his brain and dominated all three rounds,’ coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.