Shiva Thapa wins gold at National Boxing Championships, books World Championship berth 

Indian boxer Shiva Thapa defended his national title and also booked a berth for the Men's Boxing World Championships. Thapa won the gold medal at the 5th Elite Men's Boxing National Championship at the Inspire Institute of Sports in Bellary, Karnataka, on Tuesday.

Shiva Thapa beat Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) boxer Dalveer Singh Tomar 5-0 to win the gold medal.

Shiva Thapa, boxing in the 63.5kg category, was clinical from the start. He put no foot wrong as he decimated Dalveer Tomar's efforts with disdain to win the bout comprehensively.

Shiva Thapa was completely in control during the course of the tournament. In the semi-final, he recorded a dominating victory against Uttar Pradesh’s Abhishek Yadav by a unanimous margin. The Assam-born boxer is a five-time Asian Championship medalist.

A total of 13 finals, involving 26 boxers, are in progress at the Elite Men's National Boxing Championships. 13 gold medal winners have cemented their place in the upcoming 2021 AIBA Elite Men’s World Boxing Championships. The AIBA Elite Men's World Boxing Championships are scheduled to be held in Serbia from October 24 to November 6.

Thapa made history for India at the 2012 Olympics

Thapa was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics. He represented the country in the 2012 edition of the Summer Games in London.

He was only 18 years old at that point. He lost in the first round 9–14 to Mexico's Oscar Valdez Fierro in the 56 kg Bantamweight category.

He qualified for the 2016 Summer Games as well. However, Thapa did not fare much better in Rio either. He lost 0–3 to the 2012 Gold medalist Robeisy Ramírez from Cuba.

Thapa failed to make it a hat-trick by not being able to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.