New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS): Top favourites Amit Panghal (51kg) and Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) clinched gold medals with impressive victories while defending champions Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) retained the overall trophy with 12 medals including 10 gold in the 7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships in Shillong.
SSCB maintained their dominance as they topped the rankings with 90 points from 12 medals. RSPB, with five silver and two bronze (41 points) and Haryana with two silver, and two bronze (31 points) claimed second and third positions respectively.
The 2019 World Championships silver medallist, Amit Panghal navigated through the bout with ease. Panghal, who faced Anshul Punia of Chandigarh, dominated the final in the 51kg category as he secured gold with a unanimous 5-0 decision.
The record six-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa of Assam faced reigning World Youth Champion, Vanshaj of SSCB in the 63.5kg final. The previous edition's gold medallist, Shiva continued his stellar run of performances as he secured a commanding victory with a flawless score of 5-0 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.
Continuing the series of victories, the 2021 Asian champion, Sanjeet (92kg) from SSCB faced Naveen Kumar of Haryana in what was a repeat of last year's final in the competition where the latter had prevailed. However, Sanjeet ensured that was not the case this year as he outpunched his opponent to secure an impressive 5-0 win.
Alongside Amit, Jugnoo and Sanjeet the pugilists of SSCB took centerstage on the tournament's final day. The team not only successfully defended their crown at the 7th Elite Men's National Boxing Championships but also secured an impressive total of ten 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.
Jaipal Singh of Punjab faced off against Sagar, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist 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.
Lalit who represents AIP (All India Police) faced Pawan of SSCB in the 54kg final. Lalit started 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.
Apart from the medals, 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.