Men's National Boxing: Shiva Thapa, Hussamuddin, Govind clinch gold as Services defend their crown

Hisar, Jan 6: The 6th Elite Men's National Boxing Championships in Hisar concluded on Friday (January 6) with favourites Shiva Thapa and Mohammad Hussamuddin bagging gold on the back of emphatic victories in the final.

While defending champions Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) topped the rankings with 10 medals at the prestigious tournament which saw the participation of 386 boxers competing in 13 weight categories.

Shiva Thapa & Mohd Husamuddin live up to their reputation

The record six-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa of Assam had a pretty comfortable day at the office as he defeated the 2021 World Youth Championships bronze medalist Ankit Narwal of Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) to win by unanimous decision in the 63.5kg final.

Contrastingly, the SSCB pugilist Mohammad Hussamuddin had to toil hard to prevail against the 2016 World Youth champion Sachin of RSPB in the 57kg final. Having suffered defeat in last year's final, the two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, showcased brilliant tenacity to emerge victorious this time round with a 4-1 scoreline.

Talking about his performance in the final and his third National championship gold medal, Husamuddin told MyKhel, "I had to settle with a silver last year but this time I have secured the gold medal. It was a good fight overall. He was trying to provoke me by using some cuss words in the ring but I maintained my calm demeanour and ended up on the winning side. My biggest strength is my willpower and it plays a big role in one's success on the big stage."

The 2022 Asian Championships bronze medalist Narender (+92) received a walkover in his finals bout against the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Sagar who could not participate in the matchup due to a minor injury.

Alongside Hussamuddin and Narender, four other SSCB pugilists bagged gold medals on the final day of the Men's National Boxing Championship 2022. The team successfully defended its crown with a total of six gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg), Sachin (54kg), Akash (67kg), and Sumit (75kg) were the team's other gold medalists.

Biswamitra - who bagged the first gold of the day for SSCB with a 5-0 win over Zorum Muana of Mizoram - told MyKhel, "I had met him in the past and defeated him so I took the confidence of that game against him. It is a good start for me in the new year and I am looking forward to taking it to the next tournaments. My aim this year is to represent India in the Asian Games and World Championships and win a medal for the country."

The Manipur boxer is a relative of legendary woman boxer Sarita Devi and draws inspiration from her, MC Mary Kom and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen.

Railways came second in team rankings

With two gold, three silver and two bronze RSPB came second while Punjab with one gold, two silver and six bronze claimed third position.

Reacting to his team's overall performance Lalit Prasad, RSPB coach, told MyKhel, "We were hoping for a better medal haul this year. Some of the results didn't go in our favour as well, but that is part and parcel of the game. The boys have done well and we are hoping for an even better show next year. The grinding for the next campaigns will begin with the next camp scheduled in Patiala in the second half of this month."

Govind-Varinder shine for Railways

The 2022 Asian Championships bronze medalist Govind Sahani (48kg) and the 2021 Asian bronze medalist Varinder Singh (60kg) defended their title and attained gold for RSPB. While Govind defeated Keisham Singh of Manipur with a 5-0 win, Varinder won against Vijay Kumar of Punjab with the same scoreline.

Reacting over his gold medal finish, Govind told MyKhel, "I couldn't have asked for a better start to this year. This medal will give me the confidence to do even better."

Varinder Singh - who hails from Patiala - told MyKhel that it is the best-ever win of his career and he wants to not look back from here on.

"Winning the gold medal at the nationals is my biggest achievement so far and I do not wish to stop from hereon. I will also look to increase my weight category now so the performance here will give me the right motivation," Varinder said.

Karnataka's Nishant Dev (71kg) also secured the yellow metal after getting a walkover in the final as his opponent Hemant Yadav of Delhi failed to participate due to injury.

Interacting with MyKhel Nishant - who hails from Karnal in Haryana - reflected on the tumultuous 2022 he had.

"I won the Nationals last year in the same category, so making it two in a row is special. I went through shoulder surgery last year and after rehab, I got ready for action in October last year. Now, I am looking forward to carrying this momentum forward and doing well," Nishant said.

Heavyweight category winners

Native boxers Abhimanyu Loura (80kg) and Naveen Kumar (92kg) capped off their brilliant campaigns with hard-fought wins that earned them gold in their respective categories.

Abhimanyu who had recorded a stunning victory against Tokyo Olympian Ashish Kumar in the quarter-finals replicated that grit and confidence in his finals bout against Sahil of Chandigarh. The 2019 Asian Youth Championships bronze medalist faced tough competition from his opponent but utilized his technical ability and dynamic attacking prowess to seal a 4-1 win.

Naveen, on the other hand, faced the 2021 Asian champion Sanjeet of SSCB in what was a repeat of last year's final in the competition where the latter had prevailed. However, Naveen made sure that was not the case this year as he outpunched his opponent to secure a memorable 4-1 victory in a gripping encounter.

Punjab's Kartik (86kg) bagged a gold in the 86kg category.

Apart from the medals, Abhimanyu Loura was also presented with the Best Promising pugilist award. Kartik of Punjab secured the Best Boxer award while Zoram Muana of Mizoram was given the Best Challenger award.