NEW DELHI: Manish Kaushik beat four-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa to find a berth in the eight-member squad led by Asian Games champion Amit Panghal that will represent India at the AIBA Men’s World Championships to be held in Ekaterinburg, Russia from September 7-21.
While Panghal (52kg) was directly given a place in the squad for winning a gold at the Asian Championships which was the original criterion for selection, Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg), Sanjeet (91kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg) joined him through trials held at NIS Patiala last weekend.
Only the top two boxers from each of the categories were eligible for the trials with their recent performances being the criteria for selecting the faceoff names. Kaushik’s win by split decision over former World Championships bronze medallist Shiva Thapa in 63kg was undoubtedly the most notable result from the trials. Thapa had avenged his 2018 India Open loss to Kaushik at this year’s India Open in Guwahati to claim the gold but failed to repeat those heroics this time.
“This was a huge confidence-boosting win for me after losing to Shiva in the India Open final. I had been working hard on my stance and footwork since the loss and I am glad it paid off. I am looking forward to giving my best at the World Championships,” said the 2018 Commonwealth silver medallist.
In an absorbing clash in 57kg, Asian Championships silver medallist Kavinder Singh Bisht edged GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin in a split verdict to claim his place. Kavinder had made a splash in his maiden appearance at the last World Championships in 2017 when he upset the two-time World Championships medallist Mohamed Flissi of Algeria to advance to the quarter-finals.
