Manish Kaushik defeats ASBC Asian Champion Shiva Thapa once again and advanced to the final of the Indian Open Boxing Tournament

The exciting semi-finals were held in the Indian Open Boxing Tournament in New Delhi where only the bests remained in actions. India’s new National Champion Manish Kaushik impressed the judges with his superb performance once again and he defeated ASBC Asian Champion Shiva Thapa in the semi-finals.
The competition is very important for the Indian boxers before the Commonwealth Games and their Open Boxing Tournament is a selection event to the multisport event. The boxing tournament of the Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast, Australia in April 4-15 therefore many of the involved countries decided to attend in the Indian Open Boxing Tournament as one of the last preparations.
Mongolia’s ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships bronze medallist Jargalan Ochirbat is competing at the Olympic flyweight (51kg) in the Indian Open Boxing Tournament in New Delhi. The 22-year-old Mongolian talent started her semi-final better than India’s AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships silver medallist Sarjubala Shamjetsabam Devi and took the lead on the scorecards. Her world class Indian rival tried to turn back their fight but Ochirbat’s advantage was enough until the end of the final gong which was a small upset on Day4.
Philippines’ AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships silver medallist Nesthy Petecio delivered superb performance in the fourth competition day of the Indian Open Boxing Tournament in New Delhi once again. The 25-year-old Filipino, who joined to the national squad in 2009, defeated one of her main regional rival in the quarterfinals, Thailand’s veteran Tassamalee Thongjan and continued her winning path against Indonesia’s Southeast Asian Games silver medallist Christina Marwan Jembay in the last four. Her final opponent will be India’s Sonia in the gold medal contest of the featherweight (57kg).
Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee was bronze medallist in the Jeju 2014 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships but since that competition she was not able to do the same level in the international events. Thailand’s experienced boxer arrived to New Delhi in better shape and she used up her strong jabs to beat India’s Simranjit Kaur in the semi-final of the event. She will be boxing for the title with India’s Pwilao Basumatary who eliminated Nepal’s new sensation Punam Rawal.
India’s ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain defeated Mongolia’s Erdenetuya Enkhbaatar in Ho Chi Minh City last November. The young Indian national team member had to meet with her Mongolian rival once again and used similar tactic on their re-match which was closer one than last time. The result was the same as in Ho Chi Minh City but Borgohain had to do more for her second triumph over Enkhbaatar. Her final opponent at the welterweight (69kg) will be India’s Pooja who is her main national rival.
India’s ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Amit Panghal is a smart boxer who has got the realistic chance to represent his country at the light flyweight (49kg) in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The 23-year-old Indian boxer defeated his teammate Nutlai Lalbiakkima in the semi-final and will be boxing with his top national rival, Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympian Shyam Kumar Kakara. Their upcoming final is one of the most anticipated one in the last competition day.
Uzbekistan’s 21-year-old Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov won all of his six contests in the World Series of Boxing in the recent two seasons and after his successes in the longer battles, he demonstrated his technique in the bantamweight (56kg) of the Indian Open Boxing Tournament in New Delhi. The Uzbek boxer overcame India’s Madan Lal in the quarterfinal and did not give any chance in the semi-final bout against another host nation boxer, 18-year-old Muhammed Etash Khan.
India’s new lightweight (60kg) sensation Manish Kaushik won the Indian National Championships three months ago when he defeated their two-time Olympian No.1 Shiva Thapa as well. Kaushik eliminated Cuba’s WSB star Armando Martinez and Philippines’ Incheon 2014 Asian Games silver medallist Charly Suarez during his road to the semi-finals in the Indian Open Boxing Tournament. Kaushik had to meet in the last four with his top national rival Shiva Thapa and he was able to control their re-match in New Delhi. Kaushik will be boxing for the title with Mongolia’s Misheelt Battumur in the final.
Uzbekistan’s Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships silver medallist and ASBC Asian Champion Ikboljon Kholdarov tried to dictate the tempo in his semi-final against India’s Dheeraj Kumar from the first seconds. The Uzbek boxer was a hard target for the Indian in their light welterweight (64kg) contest and his effective counter-attacks delivered from him a place in the final where his last opponent will be Cuba’s Jorge Moiran Vinent.
Uzbekistan’s new sensation at the welterweight (69kg) Bobo-Usmon Boturov won the title at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku last May. The 23-year-old Uzbek moved eliminated Nepal’s Bishnu Prasad Ghale in the quarter-final and delivered the same strong performance in the last four against India’s Duryodhan Singh Negi. Boturov used his attacking tactic once again and won all of the rounds clearly in the semi-final once again. His final opponent will be the host nation’s Dinesh who eliminated India’s Commonwealth Games winner Manoj Kumar in a sensational contest.
India’s relatively unknown boxer at the heavyweight (91kg) Sanjeet eliminated Kazakhstan’s Ontalap Rakhmanov in the first preliminary round of the Indian Open Boxing Tournament and continued his unexpected winning path in the fourth competition day. Sanjeet was not the favourite against India’s AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Naman Tanwar but finally his hand was raised. Sanjeet marched to the final of the event where his next opponent will be Uzbekistan’s promising star Sanjar Tursunov.