Guwahati: Shiva Thapa, a five-time Asian Championships medalist, and Amit Panghal, a six-time Asian Championships medalist, sealed their spots in the Indian men’s boxing team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after winning the trials finals on Thursday at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports.
While seasoned fighter Thapa defeated 2018 CWG silver medalist Manish Kaushik 5-0 to seal his spot in the 63.5kg division, 2019 world championship silver medallist Panghal overcame Services boxer Deepak in the 51kg class by a split 4-1 decision to secure his spot in the quadrennial event.
2018 bronze medalist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Rohit Tokas (67kg), reigning national champion Sumit (75kg), Ashish Kumar (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg), and Sagar (+92kg) were the other six Indian pugilists who won on the final day of the trials to secure their places in the Indian contingent for the Birmingham event.
Boxers competed in eight categories over the course of three days for a spot in the 2022 CWG, which will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.
Thapa, a bronze medalist at the 2015 World Championships, placed pressure on Manish from the start before cruising to victory. Panghal and Deepak, on the other hand, fought hard throughout the bout, exchanging punches at close range, but the former prevailed in the end thanks to his experience.
Hussamuddin won a 4-1 decision over 2019 Asian Championship silver medalist Kavinder Singh Bisht in the 57kg category, while Railways fighter Rohit edged Uttar Pradesh’s Aditya Pratap Yadav in a tough welterweight bout by a slim 3-2 margin.
Another highlight of the day was Sagar’s brave performance in the +92kg final against the defending national champion Narender. Sagar had a strong showing in the event, including a Last-4 stage victory over Tokyo Olympics quarter-finalist Satish Kumar.
Starting the fight with confidence, Sagar used an aggressive instinct from the start and continued to apply pressure to his opponent throughout the fight, eventually winning 5-0.
Sanjeet, meanwhile, won 4-1 against Naveen Kumar in the 92kg division.
The rest of the bouts were a one-way show, with Sumit, Ashish, and Sanjeet all overpowering their respective finals to win by identical 5-0 margins.
Indian boxers came in second place at the 2018 CWG with nine medals, including three gold, as well as silver and bronze.
The women’s trials for the Birmingham Games will take place next week in New Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.