Asian Championships: Boxer Shiva Thapa settles for silver due to injury

Shiva Thapa's Asian Championships campaign came to an end after he was forced to withdraw through his final bout due to an injury and settled for a silver medal in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.

The 28-year-old male boxer sustained an injury in his right knee in the opening seconds of the second round of the light welterweight gold medal in the 63.5kg category against Abdullaev Ruslan of Uzbekistan, suffering an RSC (Referee stops the contest) loss.

Thapa, seeded third, was trailing when the injury occurred. He had lost the fast-paced opening round 0-5.

In the opening three minutes, both the boxers had tried to assert their authority, even resorting to body blows with the Uzbek coming on top.

In the second round, while trying to make up ground, Thapa fell on the canvas after exchanging a few punches.

He managed to rise up without any aid as the referee gave a count but the Indian looked in pain as play remained halted.

Thapa then received medical attention as the ringside doctor examined his right knee.

Eventually, the bout was called off as Thapa hobbled away.
The seasoned boxer struggled to even stand up while the referee announced the winner.

The final was sort of an anticlimax in an otherwise flawless campaign by Thapa.

His haul now includes a gold (2013), three silver (2017, 2021, and 2022), and two bronze medals (2015 and 2019).

With the silver, Thapa has overtaken Kazakh legend Vassiliy Levit, an Olympic silver medallist, and two-time world bronze medal winner, who was the only other male pugilist with five Asian Championship medals.

Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (7) and L Sarita Devi (8) have more Asian medals than Thapa, with the latter having the distinction of claiming six successive medals, five of them gold, at the peak of her prowess.

Indian boxers returned with 12 medals, which include four gold, two silver, and six bronze.

Gold Medallists: