Thapa through, Vijender loses in second round of World Boxing Championships

It was a mixed day for the Indian pugilists as World No. 6 Shiva Thapa (56kg) progressed to the third round of the World Boxing Championships whereas Former Olympic and World Championships Bronze medalist Vijender Singh (75kg) lost to the World No. 7 and current European Champion Jason Quigley of Ireland.

Shiva Thapa, who is the 4th seeded boxer in Bantamweight category defeated Mario Fernandez of Philippines 3-0 in the second round. The individual scoreline read 28-29, 27-30, 28-29 in favor of the Indian boxer. Thapa, a former Youth Olympics silver medalist will next take on Alberto Median of Argentina for a place in the quarters.

There was a bit of disappointment in the Indian camp as Vijender Singh, who was taking part in his first major tournament after being accused in the controversial drug scandal earlier this year lost to the 5th seeded Irish boxer.

Vijender gave a tough fight to his opponent but unfortunately lost 0-2. This was Vijender’s fourth successive appearance at the mega event.

Quigley won 2-0 in the overall analysis with the round-by-round break-up being 28-28 27-30 27-30.

Earlier in the day Thochom Nanao Singh (46-49kg) also progressed to the the last 16 of the Championships after defeating Aqeel Ahmed of Scotland 3-0.

In the evening session National champion Satish Kumar (+91kg) will be up against Tajikistan’s Mirodzhidin Karimov in the first round.

Due to the provisional suspension imposed on the Indian Boxing Federation, the country’s pugilists are competing in the Championships under the banner of International Boxing Association (AIBA).