Nepal’s star Thapa, six others clinch Asian Games spot

South Asian Games champion Bhupendra Thapa and six other boxers ruled their respective weight divisions in Nepal’s Asian Games National Selection Tournament held from April 27 to 29 in Satdobato, Lalitpur.

Thapa, a gold medal winner in the SAG 2019, thumped Lalu Ale Megar for a lopsided 5-0 decision in the semifinals before taking an easy victory via walkover against Sonam Sharki in the title bout of the men’s light welterweight (63 kg) class.

Saraswati Rana, the best female pugilist in the recently-concluded Bir Ganesh Man Singh Memorial National Boxing Championships, dominated Sabina Shrestha, 5-0, to top the women’s welter (69kg) category while veteran national team campaigner Sangita Sunar made quick work of Barsha Shrestha, winning the women’s light (60kg) final in just the second round.

Chandra Bahadur Thapa (men’s fly-52kg), Suraj Maharjan (men’s bantam-57kg), Dipesh Lama (men’s middle-75kg) and Bimala Shrestha (women’s bantam) were the other fighters who locked in their Asian Games slot.

National squad members Minu Gurung and Suhsma Tamang are set to clash in the women’s fly (51kg) for the last Asiad ticket after the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Nepal will send its eight-strong team in the 19th Asian Games scheduled on September 10 to 25 in Hangzhou, China.

List of winners in Nepal’s Asian Games National Selection Tournament

 Women’s 57kg: Bimala Shrestha

 Women’s 60kg: Sangita Sunar

 Women’s 69kg: Saraswati Rana Magar

 Men’s 52kg: Chandra Bahadur Thapa

 Men’s 57kg: Suraj Maharjan

 Men’s 63kg: Bhupendra Thapa

 Men’s 75kg: Dipesh Lama

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