Shiva Thapa is going to be India’s biggest medal hope in boxing at the Rio Olympic Games. The young boxer from Guwahati is said to have been inspired by boxing icon Mike Tyson. He took up the sport of boxing due to his father’s influence and wanted him to represent India at the Games. The 22-year old trained himself to be able to compete with the elite boxers at the international level.
Thapa started his boxing career by winning the gold medal in the 54kg category at the Indian Junior National Championships in 2008 at the age of just 14. He also won the Heydar Aliyev Junior Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan in the same year. The boxer again won the Indian Junior National Championships the following year in the 52kg category. After performing well at the junior level, he moved to the senior boxing world in 2011.
Also Read: Know your Indian Olympian: 10 things you need to know about boxer Shiva Thapa
He won the silver medal in his first senior national championships in the 56kg category. He has since been competing in the same category in all the events. Qualifying for the 2012 Olympics as the youngest Indian boxer ever was one of the major achievements of Shiva. But, he could not deliver the goods in London where he lost to Ireland’s Michael Conlan in the first preliminary round. After this disappointment, the boxer decided to target glory at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The road to Rio for Shiva began with the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, both held in the same year of 2014. But the Guwahati lad could not prove his mettle yet again as he lost in the preliminary round and quarter-final respectively. However, with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) and Anglian Medal Hunt Company behind him, the pugilist won the 2015 Doha International Tournament, which built his confidence.
Shiva’s dream of going to Rio finally came true when the 22-year old bantamweight category boxer qualified for the Rio Olympics after a 3-0 victory over Kairat Yeraliyev at the semi-finals of the AIBA Asian and Oceanic Olympic qualifiers in Qian’an, China. In doing so, Shiva also became the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Rio Games. Shiva has qualified and will be also have two other Indian boxers, Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishan Yadav, at the Rio Olympics.
But his journey to Rio does not guarantee him a medal at the Games, however, his ranking – 3rd in the bantamweight category in the AIBA Men’s World Ranking – means that Thapa is one of the favourites for a medal. His age is also a positive sign for Shiva as he will already be competing at his second Games at the age of just 22. Shiva has been consistent with his performances and has prepared himself well to combat the opponents, and use his quick feet to create an advantage.
The Assamese will be facing tough competition from the likes of Ireland’s Michael Conlan and Cuba’s Andy Cruz Gomez. However, there is little doubt over what the Indian can do to keep his fans pinning their medal hopes on him.
