New Delhi: Five-time Asian medalist Shiv Thapa (63.5kg) is just one way away from creating history at the World Boxing Championships as he has advanced to the quarterfinals of the event.
The 27-year-old star Indian boxer defeated France’s Lounes Hamraoui 4-1 in a late night match in the pre-quarterfinals on Monday. Thapa will now face Turkey’s Kerem Oezmen. Thapa had won bronze medal in the 2015 edition of the tournament in Doha.
Meanwhile, India’s Akash Kumar (54kg) will face Venezuela’s Yoel Finol in the quarterfinals, while Narender Barwal (over 92kg) will take on Azerbaijan’s Mohamed Abdullayev. Akash gave a tough fight to Puerto Rico’s Caleb Tirado in the pre-quarterfinals and later the judges ruled in favor of the Indian boxer and he won 5-0. On the other hand, Narendra defeated Tajikistan’s Jakhon Kurbanov to enter the quarterfinals.
Nishant Dev (71kg) will face Russia’s Vadim Musaev and Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) will face Italy’s Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine. The gold medalists will get a sum of USD 100,000 while the silver medalists will receive USD 50,000. The bronze medalists will each receive USD 25,000. The total prize purse for this event is USD 2.6 million.
