World Championships medallists Amit Panghal and Shiva Thapa have secured spots in the Indian boxing team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games after emerging victorious in the national trials held in Patiala on Thursday.
Panghal, the 2019 World Championships silver medallist, secured his place in the 51kg weight category, while Thapa clinched the 63.5kg spot in the men’s trials held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.
According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), six more boxers have been included in the Indian team, including 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Rohit Tokas (67kg), reigning national champion Sumit (75kg), Ashish Kumar (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg) and Sagar (92kg+).
Panghal defeated fellow Services boxer Deepak 4-1 via a split decision. He will be aiming to improve on his performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where he won a silver medal.
The 2015 World Championships bronze medallist Thapa, who was last week elected as a member of the IBA Athletes Committee, out-punched 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Manish Kaushik 5-0 to seal his spot on the team.
In the 57kg category, Hussamuddin prevailed over 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Kavinder Singh Bisht 4-1, while Rohit eked out a close 3-2 win over Aditya Pratap Yadav in the welterweight (67 kg) division.
Sumit, Ashish, Sanjeet and Sagar all dominated their bouts as they won by an identical 5-0 margin.
India had finished second in boxing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning nine medals, including three golds and as many silvers and bronze.
The country’s women’s trials for the Commonwealth Games will be held next week.
India’s Men’s Team for Birmingham 2022:
51 kg – Amit Panghal
57 kg – Mohammad Hussamuddin
63.5 kg – Shiva Thapa
67 kg – Rohit Tokas
75 kg – Sumit
80 kg – Ashish Kumar
92 kg – Sanjeet
92+ kg – Sagar