Assam’s Shiva Thapa (63 kg) has brought laurels to the state by winning gold on the concluding day of the 4th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships at Baddi on Thursday.
The event was held at the Baddi University of Emerging Sciences and Technology in Himachal Pradesh.
Assam boxer Thapa defeated Akash Sangwan with a 4-1 verdict in the final.
Thapa asserted his class to tame a young Akash Sangwan and emerge as the 63kg champion in the championships.
Also read: Assam’s Shiva Thapa wins silver at GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Finland
According to reports, in a beautiful show of his tactical game, Thapa defused the challenge of a hard-hitting Sangwan to win a national title after three years.
Thapa is a two-time Olympian and a four-time Asian medallist.
He gauged Sangwan’s game and explored openings in the first round.
Shiva started slowly and took some time to gauge his opponent’s strategy, but once he settled in, he dominated the proceedings and controlled the bout.
Sangwan managed to land some solid punches. However, the mature Assam boxer did not let the young Services boxer free his arms.
Thapa with his punches in style was able to secure his first national crown in the new weight.
In the championships, Services won nine medals, including six gold, two silver and a bronze, to top the table with 62 points while Railways and Haryana finished second and third with 37 and 30 points, respectively.
In one of the highly-anticipated bouts of the day, Railways’ Sachin Siwach took on Mohammad Hussamuddin of Services in the 57kg final.
The fierce bout started with the latter conceding more punches as Sachin taking advantage of his height.