New Delhi: Teen boxers Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan struck gold today to round off a brilliant performance by India in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan where the country bagged three London tickets to make it an unprecedented seven-strong contingent for the quadrennial extravaganza.
The 18-year-old Shiva (56kg), who is the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics, defeated Syria’s Wessam Salamana 18-11 to clinch his second successive senior international gold medal.
The 19-year-old Sumit (81kg) beat Tajikistan’s Dzhakon Qurbanov 14-9 to bag his maiden senior international gold in his debut event.
Besides these two, Vijender Singh (75kg) also booked a London berth by making the semifinals of the last qualifiers for the July-August mega-event.
Four Indian boxers — L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) -— had already booked their Olympic berths in last year’s World Championship.
The Assam-lad, who displayed fantastic reflexes and came up with precise jabs, took a narrow 5-4 lead in the opening round.
Although his rival matched him in aggression, the Indian was more accurate in his placement of punches, winning the second round 5-3 to make it 10-7. Shiva capitalised on his opponent’s draining energy levels in the final three minutes to win comprehensively in the end.
“Shiva put up a fantastic performance. He is a very promising talent,” said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
Sumit adopted a wait-and-attack approach in his bout, sizing up his rival in the opening three minutes before taking a slender a 2-1 lead.
They dreamt of appearing at the Olympics some day but Indian boxers Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan never thought that they would realise this aspiration while still in their teenage.
The two clinched not just Olympic berths but also gold medals in their respective categories at the Asian Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan today.
Shiva, in fact, is the youngest Indian boxer to make the Olympics, having done it at an age when he becomes eligible to vote and drive.
“I always dreamt of making it to the Olympics when I started boxing but wow! I mean I have actually qualified, it feels just fantastic,” the Assam-boxer, who is a silver-medallist from the Youth Olympics, told PTI from Astana.
Shiva, who was included in the team at the expense of senior boxer Akhil Kumar, was competing in only his second senior international event after striking gold on debut last year.
For Sumit, it was his first senior international event after getting the better of Olympian Dinesh Kumar in the national trials.
“Of course you dream that it happens but I never thought that I would do it so soon. It’s a great feeling,” Sumit, who started boxing in 2001, said. The two come from distinct backgrounds. While Shiva is a product of the Army Sports Institute in Pune, Haryana-lad Sumit has honed his skills under the watchful eyes of his boxer uncle Vinod Sangwan. (PTI)