Thapa, Hussamuddin win gold, Army retains National Boxing Championship title
Veteran Shiva Thapa and Mohd Hussamuddin clinched gold medals in the sixth Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships on Friday, while the Army Sports Promotion Board (SSCB) retained the team title with 10 medals. Assam’s Thapa, a record six-time Asian medallist, could not mount a tough fight in the final against Railway Sports Promotion Board’s (RSRV) Ankit Narwal. Thapa defeated the 2021 World Youth Championships bronze medalist 5-0 in the 63.5kg category bout.
SSCB boxer Mohd Hussamuddin had to fight hard to get the better of 2016 world youth champion RSPB’s Sachin in the 57kg final. The two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, after suffering a defeat in last year’s final, registered a 4-1 win this time. Asian Championships (2022) bronze medalist Narendra (over 92kg) got a walkover in his final bout against 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Sagar.
Sagar could not participate in the match due to a minor injury. SSCB boxers along with Hussamuddin and Narendra put up a fine performance on the final day of the tournament. The team successfully defended its crown in the Men’s National Boxing Championships with a total of six gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Vishwamitra Chongtham (51kg), Sachin (54kg), Akash (67kg) and Sumit (75kg) are the other gold medalists from the team. RSPB came second with (two gold, three silver and two bronze) while Punjab (one gold, two silver and six bronze) came third. Local boxers Abhimanyu (80kg) and Naveen Kumar (92kg) ended their impressive campaigns with hard-fought victories. Both got gold in their respective weight categories.
