Asian Boxing Championship: Shiva Thapa clinches historic silver, India conclude campaign with 12 medals

Star Indian boxer Shiva Thapa capped off India’s magnificent campaign by clinching a historic silver medal at the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championship and taking the total tally to 12 medals. This was Thapa’s third silver and sixth medal overall at the prestigious tournament, which makes him the most successful male pugilist in the championships’ history. His previous two silver medals came in 2017 and 2021. He also clinched the title in the 2013 edition and secured bronze medals in 2015 and 2019, as per a press release from the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). Up against Abdullaev Ruslan of Uzbekistan in the men’s 63.5kg final, Thapa made a cautious start and looked growing in confidence as the bout progressed. However, his quest for a second gold in the Asian Championships was halted by an unfortunate injury which he suffered to his right knee in the second round of the bout. With the Guwahati-born boxer in no condition to continue, his Uzbek opponent was declared as the winner by the referees with RSC verdict. With the addition of silver on the final day, India got a grand total of 12 medals in the competition, which include four gold, two silver, and six bronze. Out of the 12 medals, women pugilists contributed to seven as India claimed the No.1 position in the women’s section followed by Kazakhstan, who finished second with three gold medals. The 2022 edition of the championships saw a fierce competition in the presence of 257 top boxers from 27 countries in Amman, Jordan. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) won the gold medal along with Alfiya Pathan (+81kg), Saweety Boora (81kg) and Parveen Hooda (63kg). Minakshi (52kg) claimed silver while Ankushita Boro (66kg) and Preeti Dahiya (57kg) bagged bronze medals each. Narender (+92kg), Sumit (75kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), and Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg) won bronze medals in the men’s category.