Defending champion Shiva Thapa assured himself of a second successive national championship medal after he advanced to the semi-finals on Saturday. The World Championships bronze-medallist, who is representing Assam, defeated Andhra Pradesh’s V Durga Rao in his quarter-final bout.
The three-time Asian Championships medallist will face Punjab’s Palwinder Singh in his lightweight (60kg) semi-final clash on Sunday. Commonwealth gold medallist champion Manoj Kumar also beat Pawan of Haryana in the 69 kg category.
“I have beaten him (Durga) in the past but I always knew how good a boxer he is. So I was fully prepared and came in with a set strategy,” said Thapa after the bout. “He is hard puncher and does not move around much which makes it difficult to go at him toe to toe. So I had to move and attacked him on the counter, when he tried coming close to me. It’s this strategy, which worked wonders for me in the ring today. The results might have gone unanimous in my favour but I must admit it was not an easy win for me,” he added.
Three-time King’s Cup gold-medallist K Shyam Kumar (49kg), who is competing for the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), also entered the medal round with a win over K Kranthi. Shyam Kumar had won a silver medal in the previous edition of the championship.
Former national champion Madan Lal (56kg), competing for the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) defeated Manipur’s M Romajit to enter the semi-finals.