BIRMINGHAM, July 29: Ace Indian boxer Shiva Thapa outclassed Pakistan’s Suleman Baloch in the first round of the 63.5kg category bout to begin his Commonwealth Games campaign on a rousing note here on Friday.
Having lived with the disappointment of not making his second successive Olympics in Tokyo last year, the former Asian champion was far superior than his taller and aggressive rival to emerge 5-0 winner in his light welter weight category.
The decision from the judges was unanimous at the NEC Arena.
The 28-year-old, who was eliminated in the pre-quarters of Glasgow 2014 in his only CWG appearance prior to these Games, will next face Reese Lynch of Scotland in the round of 16 on Sunday.
This also kicked off in style India’s campaign in the boxing ring, where they have some exciting prospects in reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen, Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain and world championship silver medallist Amit Panghal.
The nimble-footed Thapa was at his calculative best against his Pakistani opponent who started off aggressively, exploiting his height.
An agile Thapa ensured his opponent had misses up front to tire him out before going for the kill, bringing all his experience to play from second round onwards.
He landed some quick jabs as the Pakistani lost control for a split second in the remaining minutes.
“It was about maintaining our defence well. We did not want to go for the aggressive hooks and upper cut up front,” India coach Narender Rana, who helped Thapa in his formative years at the Army Sports Institute Pune, said.
“Guarding against injury was the main thing in our agenda. He has a long way to go here – four more bouts to be precise,” he summed up. (PTI)
