Amit Panghal (51kg) and Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) powered their way to impressive victories as they clinched gold medals while defending champion SSCB (Services Sports Control Board) maintained its dominance as it topped the rankings with 12 medals, including 10 gold medals, at the National Boxing Championships in Shillong.
Panghal, the 2019 World Championships silver medallist, beat Anshul Punia of Chandigarh and secured the gold medal with a unanimous 5-0 decision.
The record six-time Asian medallist Thapa, of Assam, secured a commanding victory against reigning world youth champion Vanshaj of SSCB in the 63.5kg final to defend his title.
Contrastingly, the SSCB pugilist Jugnoo faced a challenging encounter against Vishal of Haryana in the 86kg final. In a closely fought battle, Jugnoo displayed both skill and composure in crucial moments of the game and ultimately secured a 5-2 split decision win in his favour.
The 2021 Asian champion, Sanjeet (92kg) from SSCB faced Naveen Kumar of Haryana in what was a repeat of last year’s final, in which the latter had prevailed. However, Sanjeet avenged that defeat as he outpunched his opponent to secure a 5-0 win.
SSCB not only successfully defended its crown at the National Boxing Championships but also secured an impressive total of 10 gold and two silver medals. Barun Singh (48kg), Sachin (57kg), Akash (60kg), Rajat (67kg), Akash (71kg), Deepak (75kg), Lakshya (80kg) were the team’s other gold medallists while Pawan (54kg) and Vanshaj (63.5kg) secured a silver each.
RSPB, with five silver and two bronze, and Haryana, with two silver and two bronze, claimed second and third position, respectively.
Jaipal Singh of Punjab faced off against Sagar, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist in his 92+kg final.
Engaged in a tightly contested match, Jaipal unleashed a flurry of swift and aggressive punches as he secured a knockout victory in the third round and created a huge upset.
Akash Sangwan (71kg) of SSCB with the award for the best boxer of the tournament. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Lalit, who represents AIP (All India Police), faced Pawan of SSCB in the 54kg final. Lalit started off in a dominating fashion against Abhinash Jamwal but as the bout progressed, the boxer from SSCB staged a remarkable comeback and made Lalit work hard for each point.
The bout was closely contested throughout but Lalit maintained his composure in the pivotal moments of the game to get past his opponent in a 4-3 split decision win to secure the gold medal.
Akash Sangwan (71kg), from SSCB, was also presented with the best boxer of the tournament award because of his exploits and consistency throughout the tournament.
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