World Champion ships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) became the first Indian boxer to make the cut for this year's Olympics by entering the Asian Qualifying Tournament's final but the celebrated M C Mary Kom (51kg) failed to book her Rio Games ticket after losing in the last-four stage.
Shiva, given the top seeding in his weight category, lived up to the billing as he sailed past 2013 World Championship bronze-medallist Kairat Yeraliyev of Kazakhstan in the semifinal. With this victory, the 22-year-old Indian is set for his second Olympic appearance, four years after he became the youngest boxer to qualify for the sporting extravaganza. “I want to thank god for having managed to achieve this. I was very worked up about this bout, it was the most important bout for me. So I am totally relieved,” Shiva said.
“I have very little time at hand for rest and recovery. So, it's slowly sinking in. I can't thank enough my coaches and all those who supported me in this journey. I hope to come good on expectations this time by winning an Olympic medal,” he said.
However, it was heartbreak for another top seed, Mary Kom, who went down to old foe Ren Cancan of China in the semifinals, which will only translate into a bronze medal for her. Another Indian in fray was Commonwealth Games silver-medallist and fourth seed L Devendro Singh (49kg) but he lost to top seed Rogen Ladon of Mongolia in the semifinals.
