Manish upsets Shiva Thapa at boxing nationals

Shiva Thapas golden run at the second Elite Mens National Boxing Championship came to an abrupt end as he suffered a shock defeat against SSCBs Manish Kaushik here on Monday.

Apart from him, the other favourites, Manoj Kumar (69kg) and Mandeep Jangra (75kg), didn't face any such mishaps, as they comfortably went on to win their respective bouts.

In the lightweight finals, former World Championship bronze medal winner Shiva Thapa began in his customary aggressive manner, connecting a few good punches. Manish Kaushik, however, turned it around in the second round, fighting with a lot more conviction.

Manish landed his hooks and uppercuts cleanly, shaking up the confident Assamese boxer. One of the hits gave Shiva a cut above the eye and the referee had to stop the contest momentarily.

After the forced break, Thapa was evidently not at his hundred percent. But he wasn't ready to give up yet.

The third and final round began neck and neck, as both boxers went for broke. Manish Kaushik's strategy of maintaining some distance and landing his jab and hook combination worked as he was declared the winner with a score of 4-1.

In the finals of the welterweight category, Manoj Kumar outclassed SSCB's Duryodhan Singh to take the gold.

In the middleweight category, Mandeep Jangra simply steamrolled past Mizoram's Vanhlimpuia 5-0.

--IANS

gau/vm