Boxing Elite National Championships: Shiva Thapa, Sachin Siwach through to respective finals, Railways dominate proceedings

Baddi: Shiva Thapa (63kg) and Sachin Siwach (57kg) progressed to the finals of the ongoing 4th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_4750991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Getty[/caption] With 20 bouts being played, eight boxers from Services and five pugilists from Railways entered the finals. Railways’ Sachin continued his winning run as he defeated Punjab’s Sagar Chand 5-0, while Assam’s Shiva staved off the challenge of last year’s silver medallist Abhishek Yadav with a unanimous win. Sachin, the India Open silver medallist, began slow and started becoming more aggressive towards the end of the first round before dominating the bout. Shiva, on the other hand, stayed low against his tall and muscular opponent from Uttar Pradesh to deliver his combination blows. He will play for the gold medal against Services’ Akash, who defeated President’s Cup gold medallist Ankush Dahiya 3-2 in a close bout. In the other semi-final in the bantamweight category, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin clinched an easy 5-0 win against Rajasthan’s Roshan Sain. The Services boxer will face Sachin in a highly-anticipated final on Thursday. Railways’ Rohit Tokas (75 kg) also walked home with an easy 5-0 win over Rohit of All India Police. Haryana’s Ankit Khatana blanked Chandigarh’s Pankaj Chauhan 5-0 in a one-sided bout and will face Rohit Tokas for the gold medal tomorrow. Railways’ Naman Tanwar (91kg) continued his flawless run as he trounced Uttarakhand’s Kapil Pokhariya 5-0 to set up a rematch of the 2019 India Open final against Sumit Sangwan, who would be looking to avenge his defeat on Thursday. Services boxer PL Prasad (52kg) displayed his superior form and skills to bag an easy 5-0 win over Sparash Kumar of Punjab, while Gujarat’s Jayesh Desai (69kg) edged past All India Police’s Parmod Kumar 3-2 in a close bout. Services, who won 8 gold medals and bagged the top position last year, will be looking to defend their title this year.