Shiva Thapa – weight 56 Kg, Bantamweight category – was the youngest Indian boxer ever to participate in the Olympics when he qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.
Early Days
Thapa’s amateur career began in 2008 when he participated in Children of Asia International Sports Games at Yakutsk, Russia. He won a bronze medal in his category.
Later that year, he won a gold at Haider Aliyev Cup. Due to his back-to-back success, he was selected as India’s official entry to Junior World Boxing Championship in Armenia. He was short-listed for the 52-kg category. He bagged a bronze in the tournament.
Thapa was selected as a part of Indian team that participated in the Second Youth World Amateur Boxing Championships. The championship was essentially a qualification event for 2010 Youth Summer Olympics. Thapa was unable to win the final and had to be content with a silver medal but he secured the qualification to the Youth Olympics.
His brilliant form continued in the Youth Olympics as he reached the final in his category. However, he lost the finals.
Youngest Indian Boxer at Olympics
The silver medal at Youth Olympics had generated a lot of buzz for Thapa and he was being touted as India’s probable entry to London Olympics of 2012. Delivering on the expectations, Thapa clinched the qualification at 2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan. He beat Syrian boxer Wessam Salamana 18-11 to seal his Olympic berth in the 56 kg or the Bantamweight Category.
The qualification also meant that Thapa has become the youngest Indian boxer to feature in the Olympics. His debut at the Olympic however, failed to leave a mark as he was eliminated in the first round by Mexico’s Oscar Valdez Fierro.
On his return to India, the young boxer was welcomed with much appreciation. Government of Assam honoured him with a prize money of Rs 1 lakh while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Sikkim Government awarded him Rs 4 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively.
Road to Rio 2016
Thapa was the first Indian boxer to qualify for Rio Olympics 2016. The bantamweight boxer finished second in the Asia Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Qian’an, China on 3 April 2016.
Thapa is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a non-profit organisation to identify and support Indian athletes. Thapa is an integral part of organisation’s Vision 2016 initiative.
Ranked at No 3 in the bantamweight category in the AIBA Men’s world ranking, Shiva Thapa is undoubtedly a serious contender for the gold at Rio.
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