Indian boxer Shiva Thapa yesterday failed to continue India’s winning run in boxing after he lost his first round bout against defending Olympic champion Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba in the 56kg category.
The 22-year-old, competing in his second Olympics, lost 0-3 in a one-sided contest in which he also ended up sustaining a cut above his left eye.
A good part of the opening round was spent cautiously by both the boxers, who are familiar to each other since their junior days, having faced off in the finals of Youth World Championships as well as the Youth Olympics in 2010.
Ramirez held the head-to-head record at 2-0 going into Thursday’s bout and he did not face much trouble in making it 3-0 overall.
The Cuban, a London Olympics flyweight gold-medallist, had the upper hand with his lethal right jabs, which connected quite well.
The nimble-footed Cuban displayed fantastic footwork and put his jab to good use even in defence against the Indian.
In the second round too, Shiva, who is a World Championships bronze-medallist, struggled to connect against the swift-dodging Ramirez, whose display of all-round skills got the crowd behind him.
The proceedings were no different in the third round and Ramirez dictated terms with his lethal jabs leading to Shivam hailing from Assam, facing a standing eight count.
Shiva’s Olympic debut four years ago had ended in similar heartbreak when he had lost in the opening round.
Only three Indian boxers had qualified for the Rio Olympics and Thapa’s exit means that only two remain in the medal contention.
The Indian boxing challenge is now limited to Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) both of whom have advanced to the pre-quarterfinals.
