7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championship
By Our Reporter
Shillong, Nov 25: The intense action of the 7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championship delivered as promised on the first day of the prestigious event at the SAI Indoor Hall on Saturday.
Forty-one bouts across the 13 categories were held on Saturday, shared across two boxing rings. The November 25 to December 1 championship, organised by the Meghalaya Boxing Association (MBA) and BFI and sponsored by the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, was declared open by the chief guest, the Secretary General of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), Hemanta Kumar Kalita.
Three Meghalayan pugilists were involved on Saturday, unfortunately all on the losing side.While Banjop Nongkhlaw (51-54kg bantamweight) lost by knockout to Mohammed Bilal of Telangana in the first round, Balnas Sangma went the distance against his Goan opponent Nikhil Gaonkar, losing the exhausting 67-71kg light middleweight bout on points. That was also the same result for Justerwell Jyrwa in his middleweight 71-75kg fight against Abhishek Shaw of Bengal. Sunday will be another big day, with the action starting from 11am.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Director of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs Smti Isawanda Laloo IAS said that it is a great honour for Meghalaya to host the championship. “We are very grateful to the BFI and MBA for this partnership in hosting this event. Indeed, it is a unique opportunity for us to host the best talent from around the country but it is also a platform for our boxers to showcase their talent and learn from the best.”Laloo also paid tribute to great Meghalaya boxers-turned-coaches like Torak Kharpran and Roshni Bhusal, who have both coached Indian national pugilists. The organisers took the opportunity of this esteemed event to felicitate them both with mementoes of appreciation.The Director also informed that the state government and BFI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the federation to further help build Meghalaya’s base in boxing. “I hope this event helps us groom our talent further. Our youth will certainly be hugely inspired,” Smti Laloo said, adding a message directly to the boxers, “And I look forward to seeing many of you reach the Paris Olympics next year.”
Working President of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, John F Kharshiing noted in his speech that he hopes that Meghalaya will produce national champions in boxing and other disciplines.