Guwahati: Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg), a six-time medallist from Asia, kept up his excellent form on Thursday and blasted into the final of the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.
In the semifinal match, Tajik Bakhodur Usmanov, the 2019 Asian Champion, came up against Shiva. Shiva used his considerable experience and tactical prowess to defeat his younger opponent in a close fight that saw both fighters go toe to toe from the start, earning a 4:1 split decision.
Shiva has previously defeated Bakhodur in the 2021 Asian Championships semifinal. According to a statement from the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), he will compete against Abdullaev Ruslan of Uzbekistan in the championship match on Saturday.
Sumit and Govind Kumar Sahani, the 2022 Thailand Open Champions, lost their semi-final matches and took home bronze.
Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan was Govind’s opponent (48 kg), and Govind initially attempted to block his opponent’s punches and counterattack with punches, but he was unable to do so for too long. The boxer from Gorakhpur suffered a 0:4 losses at the hands of his gold-medal-winning Kazakh opponent at the 2021 Youth World Championship.
Despite his best efforts, Sumit (75 kg) was unable to gain the upper hand against the reigning Asian Champion Jafarov Saidjamshid of Uzbekistan and ultimately lost 0:5 by unanimous decision.
Narender lost to Mullojonov Lazizbek of Uzbekistan by a score of 0:5 in the 92+ kg semifinal match, and his campaign came to an end with a bronze medal.
Mohammad Hussamuddin (57 kg), who suffered a gash above his right eye during the last match, was unable to compete today and was forced to accept a bronze medal instead.
Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg), who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Parveen (63 kg), who won bronze at the 2022 World Championships, is two of the five Indian women grapplers competing for the gold on Friday.
Alfiya Pathan (81+ kg), Saweety (81 kg), and Minakshi (52 kg) are the other female boxers competing in the final. Saweety, who punched her way into the final by defeating the local Lina Jaber by RSC in the second round late on Wednesday night, will face Gulsaya Yerzhan of Kazakhstan.
The men’s category finals will be held on Saturday after the conclusion of the women’s finals tomorrow.
267 boxers from 27 major boxing nations are taking part in the competition.