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Shiva Thapa outpunches local favourite for Asian gold
Jul 9, 2013, 12.07 AM IST
Shiva Thapa defeated home favourite Obada Alkabeh on a split decision of 2-1 after fighting out a tactically superior bout.
NEW DELHI: It's never easy to beat an opponent on his home ground. And in boxing, it's well known that the local favourite always punches above his weight. However, Indian boxing's new poster boy Shiva Thapa defied all odds on Monday to win the bantamweight (56kg) gold medal in the Asian Boxing Championship in Amman, Jordan.
Shiva beat home favourite Obada Alkabeh 2-1. And in doing so, the Indian team improved on their last edition's performance of a silver and two bronze.
"I won the gold but it hurts that our national anthem was not played. This was the only gold for India. Every athlete dreams of this moment and hearing the anthem is, in fact, the proudest moment for any athlete," the boxer from Assam told TOI on Monday.
"But I am happy we were at least allowed to participate and we performed well," he added. The Indian boxers are playing under the International Boxing Association's flag due to Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) suspension.
The 19-year-old is only the third pugilist from India after Suranjoy Singh (2009) and Rajkumar Sangwan (1994) to claim coveted gold at the premier continental event.
"The fans were rooting lustily for Alkabeh but I was focused on the match and I had my team's support. In my mind I had already planned the bout... I didn't want to give him any chance. I kept throwing punches and played an attacking game," Thapa said.
The other Indians in the fray for a gold medal, L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg), lost their respective bouts and had to settle for a silver each. India finished the tournament with a gold, two silver and a bronze ( Manoj Kumar).
Shiva's roommate Devendro lost concentration in the concluding moments of the deciding round which cost the Manipuri boxer the bout and the medal. Devendro lost 1-2 to Kazakhstan's Temertas Zhussupov.
Taking stock of the team's performance, National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, said: "Shiva played well despite the odds. The whole stadium was supporting his opponent and it is difficult to win in such a situation. Devendro had almost won the bout but it was his bad luck that he played a loose game at the last moment and gifted his opponent the gold."
In the welterweight (69kg) category, Guangzhou Asian Games gold-medallist Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan exposed the inexperience of Mandeep Jangra. The Indian was blanked 3-0.
"Mandeep is a talented young boxer but lacks experience. He was pitched against the best Kazakh boxer. Yeleussinov dominated from the start but I am satisfied with Mandeep's performance. We had suffered a slump in form and it's after a long time that our boxers have shown they are capable of good performance. Everyone here, be it the referees or coaches, have praised them," he said.
On the new scoring system, Sandhu said: "The scoring system is new for everybody and we too are learning, so no complaints."
Shiva Thapa outpunches local favourite for Asian gold - The Times of India
Jul 9, 2013, 12.07 AM IST
Shiva Thapa defeated home favourite Obada Alkabeh on a split decision of 2-1 after fighting out a tactically superior bout.
NEW DELHI: It's never easy to beat an opponent on his home ground. And in boxing, it's well known that the local favourite always punches above his weight. However, Indian boxing's new poster boy Shiva Thapa defied all odds on Monday to win the bantamweight (56kg) gold medal in the Asian Boxing Championship in Amman, Jordan.
Shiva beat home favourite Obada Alkabeh 2-1. And in doing so, the Indian team improved on their last edition's performance of a silver and two bronze.
"I won the gold but it hurts that our national anthem was not played. This was the only gold for India. Every athlete dreams of this moment and hearing the anthem is, in fact, the proudest moment for any athlete," the boxer from Assam told TOI on Monday.
"But I am happy we were at least allowed to participate and we performed well," he added. The Indian boxers are playing under the International Boxing Association's flag due to Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) suspension.
The 19-year-old is only the third pugilist from India after Suranjoy Singh (2009) and Rajkumar Sangwan (1994) to claim coveted gold at the premier continental event.
"The fans were rooting lustily for Alkabeh but I was focused on the match and I had my team's support. In my mind I had already planned the bout... I didn't want to give him any chance. I kept throwing punches and played an attacking game," Thapa said.
The other Indians in the fray for a gold medal, L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg), lost their respective bouts and had to settle for a silver each. India finished the tournament with a gold, two silver and a bronze ( Manoj Kumar).
Shiva's roommate Devendro lost concentration in the concluding moments of the deciding round which cost the Manipuri boxer the bout and the medal. Devendro lost 1-2 to Kazakhstan's Temertas Zhussupov.
Taking stock of the team's performance, National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, said: "Shiva played well despite the odds. The whole stadium was supporting his opponent and it is difficult to win in such a situation. Devendro had almost won the bout but it was his bad luck that he played a loose game at the last moment and gifted his opponent the gold."
In the welterweight (69kg) category, Guangzhou Asian Games gold-medallist Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan exposed the inexperience of Mandeep Jangra. The Indian was blanked 3-0.
"Mandeep is a talented young boxer but lacks experience. He was pitched against the best Kazakh boxer. Yeleussinov dominated from the start but I am satisfied with Mandeep's performance. We had suffered a slump in form and it's after a long time that our boxers have shown they are capable of good performance. Everyone here, be it the referees or coaches, have praised them," he said.
On the new scoring system, Sandhu said: "The scoring system is new for everybody and we too are learning, so no complaints."
Shiva Thapa outpunches local favourite for Asian gold - The Times of India
