Harpal Singh Bedi
Govind Sahani, Ananta Chopde and Sumit registered commanding victories against their respective opponents from Thailand to win a gold each as India finished with 10 medals at the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in Phuket on Saturday.
However four other Indians —Monika (48kg), Amit Panghal (52kg), Varinder Singh (60kg) and Ashish Kumar (81kg), claimed silver medals after losing the finals.
Manisha (57kg), Pooja (69kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) secured bronze medals with their semi-finals finish, as the 15-member Indian contingent ended their campaign with 10 medals. The Indian boxers also bettered the last edition’s medal tally of eight medals—one gold, four silver and three bronze.
Sahani claimed the first gold when he outperformed Natthaphon Thuamcharoen with a 5-0 win in the men’s 48kg contest. Chopde and Sumit, too, were quite dominant during their identical wins by unanimous decisions. While Chopde blanked Ritthiamon Saengsawang in the men’s 54kg final, Sumit defeated Peetapat Yeasungnoen in the men’s 75kg category.
Meanwhile, playing the first international tournament post their outings in the 2020 Olympic Games, Panghal and the defending champion Ashish suffered contrasting defeats. While the 2019 World Championships silver medallist Panghal tried his all but went down fighting 2-3 against Rogen Ladon of Philippines in a men’s 52kg thriller, Ashish lost to Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Oralbay by 0-5 margin in the men’s 81kg final.
Monika (48kg) and Varinder (60kg) lost to Thailand boxers Chutamas Raksat and Khunatip Pidnuch respectively by a similar margin 0-5.
Gold medal winners earned USD 2000 while silver and bronze medallists took home USD 1000 and USD 500 respectively as the tournament witnessed thrilling competition with participation of 130 top boxers including 74 male and 56 females, from Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa.
Medallists:
Gold: Govind Sahani (48kg), Ananta Chopde (54kg) and Sumit (75kg); Silver: Monika (48kg), Amit Panghal (52kg), Varinder Singh (60kg) and Ashish Kumar (81kg); Bronze: Manisha (57kg), Pooja (69kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg)