Asian Boxing Championships 2022: Shiva Thapa beats former champion Usmanov to enter final

Six-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) continued his great form and stormed into the final at the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Thursday. Shiva was facing 2019 Asian Champion Bakhodur Usmanov of Tajikistan in the semi-final. In a close bout that saw both the boxers go toe to toe from the beginning, Shiva used his vast experience and tactical acumen to prevail over his younger opponent in a 4:1 split verdict. Shiva had defeated Bakhodur in the semi-final of the 2021 Asian Championships also. He will face Uzbekistan’s Abdullaev Ruslan in the final on Saturday, as per a press release from the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). The 2022 Thailand Open Champion duo of Sumit and Govind Kumar Sahani both suffered defeats in their semi-final bouts and secured bronze.

Govind (48kg) was up against Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan and started off his bout trying to block his opponent’s punches and attack with counterpunches but he could not sustain that strategy for long. His Kazakh opponent who is the 2021 Youth World Championship gold medalist dominated the next two rounds and inflicted a 0:4 defeat on the boxer from Gorakhpur. Sumit (75kg) was involved in a tough matchup against the reigning Asian Champion Jafarov Saidjamshid of Uzbekistan and in spite of his best efforts, failed to take control of the bout and suffered a 0:5 defeat by unanimous decision. In the 92+kg semi-final bout, Narender suffered a 0:5 defeat against Mullojonov Lazizbek of Uzbekistan and ended his campaign with a bronze medal. Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) who got a cut above his right eye in the previous bout couldn’t take the ring today and had to settle for a bronze medal. Five Indian women pugilists including 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and 2022 World Championships bronze medalist Parveen (63kg) will be fighting for gold in the final of the tournament on Friday. The other women boxers competing in the final will be Alfiya Pathan (81+kg), Saweety (81kg), and Minakshi (52kg) Saweety, who punched her way into the final after defeating the native Lina Jaber by RSC in the second round late on Wednesday night will face Gulsaya Yerzhan of Kazakhstan in the final. After the conclusion of the women’s finals tomorrow, the finals for the men’s category will be conducted on Saturday. The competition is witnessing the participation of 267 boxers from 27 top boxing nations.