Shiva Thapa and Deepak Bhoria to lead Indian contingent at IBA Men's World Boxing Championships

Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa and 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Deepak Bhoria will lead the Indian squad at the upcoming IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from April 30 to May 14.

The Indian team comprises a mix of seasoned campaigners and young talent, with boxers set to compete in various weight categories. Shiva Thapa, who won a World Championships bronze medal in Doha, Qatar, in 2015, will represent the country in the 63.5 kg category. Meanwhile, Deepak Bhoria, who has emerged as one of the most improved and developed boxers in recent times, will shoulder the country’s hopes in the 51kg Flyweight category.

The Indian squad will also feature experienced campaigner and 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin, who will compete in the highly competitive 57 kg category at the showpiece event. Tokyo Olympian and 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Chaudhary will also represent India at the prestigious event for the second time.

The Tashkent championships have attracted a registration of around 640 boxers from 104 countries, with seven defending World Champions set to compete, including Sofiane Oumiha from France, Japan’s Tomoya Tsuboi and Sewonrets Okazawa, Loren Alfonso from Azerbaijan, Saken Bibossinov from Kazakhstan, and Cuba’s Yoenlis Hernandez Martinez and Julio La Cruz.

Ajay Singh, the president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), expressed confidence in the Indian squad, saying, “Men’s team have been working extremely hard and I wish them all the best. I am confident each one of them will make the country proud. We had recently witnessed the Indian Women boxers giving one of the best medal hauls of all time at the Delhi World Championship, and I hope our boys will make us proud once again at the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships.”

Young pugilists Varinder Singh (60kg), Akash Sangwan (67kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), and Sumit Kundu (75kg), who had won the gold medal at the National Championships earlier this year, will be donning the Indian jersey in their respective categories. The quartet had represented the country at the 2021 World championships and will be looking to use their experience to be among the medal winners this time.

Harsh Choudhary, who hails from Rajasthan, will make his debut at the World Championships in the 86 kg category. National Champions Naveen Kumar and Narender Berwal will be seen fighting in the 92kg and 92+kg categories, respectively. The gold medalists will walk away with a prize money of USD 200,000, while the silver medallists are to be given USD 100,000, and both bronze-medallists will be awarded USD 50,000 each.

The Indian team will leave for Tashkent on April 17 and attend a multi-nation training camp before the World Championships. In the seven Olympic weight categories - 51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg, and 92+kg, two boxers each will participate in the training camp. The Indian squad will be looking to build on their recent success in international competitions and return with a strong medal haul from the World Championships.