Shiva Thapa asserted his class to tame a young Akash Sangwan and emerge as the 63kg champion on the concluding day of the National boxing championships at the Baddi University of Emerging Sciences and Technology here on Thursday.
In a beautiful exhibition of tactics, the World Championships medallist defused the challenge of a hard-hitting Sangwan to win the National title, with a 4-1 verdict, after three years.
Dictating the pace
Thapa, a two-time Olympian and a four-time Asian medallist, gauged Sangwan’s game and explored openings in the first round. Sangwan managed to land some solid punches, but it was the mature Thapa who dictated the pace by moving around and evading the blows.
The Assam boxer closed the gaps and did not let the young Services boxer free his arms. Thapa intensified his attack through a flurry of body shots in second and third rounds to secure his first National crown in the new weight.
Mohammed Hussamuddin, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, rode on his luck to beat former World youth champion Sachin Siwach 3-2 in the closely-fought 57kg summit clash.
Hussamuddin, who was dazed by a Siwach punch in the first round, was lucky not to be knocked out as the referee delayed the standing count. It gave the Services pugilist some crucial moments to recover.
Siwach received some hard punches on his head and body but found opportunities to return the favour. His effort did not produce the desired result, though.
Naveen Boora, who was later adjudged the best boxer, spectacularly floored Jayesh Desai with a massive left hook to claim the 69kg title.
Two walkovers
Railway boxers Rohit Tokas (75kg) and Naman Tanwar (91kg) forfeited their final bouts due to leg and shoulder injury respectively.
Services retained the team championship, while Railways finished runner-up.
The result (finals): 49kg: Vinod Tanwar (SSCB) bt Ajay Pendor (Mah) 4-1; 52kg: P.L. Prasad (SSCB) bt Ashish Insha (RSPB) 3-2; 57kg: Mohd. Hussamuddin (SSCB) bt Sachin Siwach (RSPB) 3-2; 60kg: Varinder Singh (RSPB) bt V. Durga Rao (SSCB) 3-2; 63kg: Shiva Thapa (Asm) bt Akash Sangwan (SSCB) 4-1; 69kg: Naveen Boora (SSCB) bt Jayesh Desai (Guj) KO-R1; 75kg: Ankit Khatana (Har) w/o Rohit Tokas (RSPB); 81kg: Sachin Kumar (SSCB) bt Arshdeep Singh (Pun) 4-1; 91kg: Sumit Sangwan (Har) w/o Naman Tanwar (RSPB) ; +91kg: Narender (SSCB) bt Krishna Sharma (AIP) RSC-I-R2.
Best boxer: Naveen Boora; Best challenger: Ajay Pendor (Mah); Best promising boxer: Varinder Singh .
