Shiva Thapa reaches Asian Boxing C'ships final, 4 others sign off with bronze medals

Six-time medallist Shiva Thapa was the only Indian male boxer to advance to the finals as four others bowed out with bronze medals at the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Thursday. Thapa (63.5 kg) out-punched Bakhodur Usmonov of Tajikistan via a 4-1 split verdict in the semifinal to be assured of at least a silver. Thapa will face Uzbekistan's Abdullaev Ruslan in the final.

Both boxers looked to attack while defending cautiously but Thapa, the most successful pugilist in the championship, was able to land his combination punches to take the first round 5-0. However, Usmonov made a strong comeback in the second round to take it 4-1.

In the third round, Thapa attacked Usmonov relentlessly as the Tajik fell on the canvas within the first few seconds following which the referee gave him the count. The Indian continued to dominate by landing a flurry of punches while defending with ease to take the tie.

Two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin's (57kg) came to an abrupt end as he couldn't contest the semifinal due to a cut above his right eye he sustained during his last eight bout earlier this week. The 28-year-old ended his campaign with a bronze medal as did Thailand Open champions Sumit (75kg) and Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg) and Narender (92+kg).

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 medallist, 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. Narender seeded second, suffered a 0-5 defeat against third seed Mullojonov Lazizbek of Uzbekistan in his semifinal bout.

Five Indian women pugilists, including 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and 2022 World Championships bronze medallist 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 on Friday, the finals of the men's category will be conducted on Saturday.