Thapa, Sangwan are golden boys
A day after they qualified for the London Olympics, young pugilists Shiva Thapa ( 56 kg) and Sumit Sangwan ( 81kg) bagged gold medals in their respective weight categories at the Aiba Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The 18- year- old Thapa outperformed Syria’s Wessam Salamana 18- 11 in the bantamweight category, while 19- year- old Sangwan beat Kajikistan’s Dzhakon Qurbanov 14- 9 in the lightheavyweight category.
“They had promised me in the morning that they will win the gold and they have done it. Our aim was to be the overall champions and not just settle for an Olympic berth,” national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told this newspaper from Astana.
Out of the seven Indian boxers, who qualified for the Games, four are just 19 years old, giving a glimpse of the vast talent that Indian boxers posses.
“Youngsters winning gold medals in just their first and second senior international events is remarkable. It shows that Indian boxing’s future is in safe hands,” he added.
The feat is even more remarkable as Thapa, who is the youngest ever Indian boxer to qualify for the Games was participating in only his second senior tournament while it was Sangwan’s maiden big ticket event.
“When you take pressure and think of the outcome before the bout, nothing goes your way. I kept my cool and observed my opponent in every bout and boxed accordingly,” said Sangwan, who hails from Haryana.
Young Thapa, who bagged silver medals at the World Youth Championship and Youth Olympics in 2010, was in tremendous form in the qualifiers. He beat Athens Olympics silver medallist Worapoj Petchkoon of Thailand in the quarterfinals and the 2009 Asian Championship bronze medallist Satoshi Shimizu of Japan in the semi- finals.
“Winning the gold medal is the turning point in my career. It has given me confidence to train harder and iron out my flaws before we head to London,” he said.
Thapa credited senior boxer Vijender Singh, who also secured his London berth, and rest of the support staff and fellow boxers for the upbeat mood in the camp ahead of the final bout. “They were very supportive and encouraged me ahead of the bout. They boosted my morale and once the national anthem was played, I was determined to claim the top prize.”
Four 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 making this India’s largest ever boxing contingent for the Games.