Shiva makes winning start, 6 others in quarters

Bangkok, April 20

Shiva Thapa (60kg) entered the pre-quarterfinals while six other Indians advanced to the last-8 stage in the Asian Boxing Championships. Thapa secured a thrilling 4-1 win over South Korea’s Kim Wonho and is now a couple of wins away from a medal. 

Thapa can add to the gold, bronze and silver he won in the 2013, 2015 and 2017 editions, respectively. The Assam pugilist will next take on Kyrgyzstan’s Seitbek Uulu for a place in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Lovlina Borgohain, also of Assam, outpunched Vietnam’s Tran Thi Linh 5-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. She is expected to face a stiff challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin on Monday. Deepak continued his good form at the elite event with yet another commanding 5-0 win over Sri Lanka’s Mutunaka Pedi Gedara. 

Rohit Tokas (64kg) displayed his speed and alertness in his 5-0 thrashing of Afghanistan’s Nooristani Mohammad Khaibar to enter the last-8. Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) registered a 5-0 victory over Japan’s Subaru Murata. Ashish Kumar (75kg) beat China’s Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke in a 3-2 split verdict in his pre-quarterfinal match. 

Easy for Manisha

Manisha Moun (54kg) of Haryana made a promising start to her campaign with a unanimous 5-0 win over Vietnam’s Do Nha Uyen to enter the quarterfinals. 

Debutant Nitu (48kg) succumbed to a 1-4 defeat to Taipei’s Pin Meng-Chieh. On Sunday, all eyes will be on Amit Panghal (52kg) as he begins his challenge against Taipei’s Tu Po-Wei. Panghal is likely to face reigning Olympics champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. — PTI