Men’s World Boxing Championships Day 2: Focus on Shiva Thapa and Deepak after India get off to flying start

The focus now shifts to India’s seasoned boxer Shiva Thapa as he begins his world boxing championships campaign on Day 2. Four Indians, including Thapa, will be in action in Belgrade, Serbia, after Rohit Mor and Akash Sangwan gave India a flying start on the opening day of the competition.

While Thapa (63.5kg), bronze medal winner of the 2015 edition, will take on Kenya’s Victor Nyadera, Narender (+92kg) will fight against Poland’s Oskar Safaryan. Sumit (75kg) will go up against Damon O’Neill of Jamaica.

Deepak Bhoria (51kg), on the other hand, will have a tough challenge in his opening bout against two-time Asian champion Azat Usenaliev of Kyrgyzstan at the world boxing championships.

In-form Deepak had turned heads earlier this year when he defeated Uzbekistan’s Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov at the Strandja Memorial Tournament.

Meanwhile, reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) and Sachin Kumar (80kg) have been awarded first-round byes in their respective weight categories.

Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), Sumit (75kg) and Lakshya Chahar (86kg) are the other boxers who will be in action at the men’s world boxing championships.

India off to great start in men’s world boxing championships

Making his debut at the big-ticket event, Rohit set the tone for India’s campaign after he defeated Olympian jean Caicedo 5-0 in the 57kg bout on Monday. The 20-year-old Indian took advantage of his height and reach to land some well-timed heavy blows against the Ecuadorian pugilist.

Later in the night, Akash extended the winning momentum after producing a dominant show against Adem Fukran of Turkey in the 67kg bout. He won 5-0.

In the round-of-32, Rohit will take on Alen Rahimic of Bosnia and Herzegovina while Akash will be up against German boxer Daniel Krotter on Thursday.

The gold medallists of each category will receive $100,000 while silver and bronze medallists will be given $50,000 and $25,000 respectively. The winners will also get beautifully designed medals, made of solid gold and silver respectively, and belts at the world boxing championships.