Asian Elite Boxing: Shiva Thapa signs off with silver as India finishes with 12 medals

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Star Indian boxer Shiva Thapa capped off India's magnificent campaign by clinching a historic silver medal as the country concluded the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships with 12 medals in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.

This is Thapa's third silver and sixth medal overall in the prestigious tournament, which makes him the most successful male pugilist in the event's history. His previous two silver medals came in 2017 and 2021. He also clinched the title in the 2013 edition and secured bronze medals in 2015 and 2019.

Up against Abdullaev Ruslan of Uzbekistan in the men's 63.5kg final, Thapa made a cautious start and looked to grow in confidence as the bout progressed. However, his quest for a second gold in the Asian Championships was halted by an unfortunate injury that he suffered to his right knee in the second round of the bout. With the Guwahati-born boxer in no condition to continue, his Uzbek opponent was declared the winner by the referees with the RSC verdict.

With this silver on the final day, India accumulated a grand total of 12 medals in the competition, which included four gold, two silver and six bronze.

Out of the 12 medals, women pugilists contributed seven as India claimed the No.1 position in the women's section followed by Kazakhstan, who finished second with three gold medals. The 2022 edition of the championships saw fierce competition with 257 top boxers from 27 countries in the fray.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) won the gold medal along with Alfiya Pathan (+81kg), Saweety Boora (81kg) and Parveen Hooda (63kg). Minakshi (52kg) claimed silver while Ankushita Boro (66kg) and Preeti Dahiya (57kg) bagged bronze medals each.

In the men's section, Narender (+92kg), Sumit (75kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) and Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg) managed to win bronze medals in their respective categories.

Indian medallists:

Women:

Gold: Alfiya Pathan (+81kg), Saweety Boora (81kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Parveen Hooda (63kg);
Silver: Minakshi (52kg);
Bronze: Ankushita Boro (66kg) and Preeti Dahiya (57kg)

Men:

Silver: Shiva Thapa (63.5kg);
Bronze: Narender (+92kg), Sumit (75kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) and Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg).