Six time Asian Championships medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and 2019 World Championships silver medalist Amit Panghal (51kg) started their campaign on a winning note on day three at the 7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships in Shillong on Monday.
Representing Assam, Thapa started off in a dominating fashion against Abhinash Jamwal but as the bout progressed, the boxer from Himachal Pradesh made a remarkable comeback and made Thapa work for each point impressing the referees.
The bout was closely contested throughout but the highly experienced Thapa maintained his composure in the crucial moments of the game to get past his opponent in a 4-3 split decision win. He will now face Santhosh HK of Karnataka in the Round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
Panghal, who is playing for SSCB was up against Maharashtra’s Shivaji, was looking as determined as ever.
The 28 year old did not hesitate to throw punches as his opponent looked clueless giving the southpaw ample opportunity to experiment with his moves. Panghal finished the bout with an easy 5-0 unanimous decision win. He will now be up against Punjab’s Jayshandeep Singh on Tuesday in the Round of 16 clash.
Tokyo Olympian Ashish Kumar (80kg) of Himachal Pradesh got the better of his opponent Arshdeep Singh of Punjab. Ashish was at the top of his game and dominated the proceedings to grab the win with a unanimous decision. He will take on Chandigarh’s Nitish Kumar in the Round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
Asian Championship 2022 bronze medalist Govind Sahani (48kg) who represents Railway Sports Promotion Board proved too good for Sayan Lodh of Tripura.
Sahani started the proceeding with an aggressive approach surprising his opponent who was caught off guard by his approach. Within no time, the Railways boxer wrapped the game with a referee stopping the contest verdict in round one. He will now face Himachal Pradesh’s Vishal on Tuesday in the Round of 16 clash.