Shiva Thapa came from behind to notch up a stunning knockout victory, while Vikas Krishan out-witted his more fancied rival in an exhausting triumph to enter the quarterfinals on an all-win day for Indian boxers at the World Championships.
Asian silver-medallist Vikas (75kg) got the better of European silver winner and fourth seeded Pole Tomasz Jablonski 2-1. Shiva (in pic) (56kg), on the other hand, rallied to defeat the African champion Mohamed Hamout of Morocco to make the last-eight stage.
The 21-year-old Shiva will next be up against Qatar’s Hakan Erseker, who beat Vanuatu’s Boe Warawara 2-1. The 23-year-old Vikas, meanwhile, will face Egypt’s Hosam Abdin.
“Shiva was exceptionally good with his hooks and that eventually won him the bout. Even his combination punches on counter-attack were very accurate. It’s a very rare knockout win for an Indian boxer, I can’t recall any in my memory,” national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said.
“Vikas boxed superbly. The Polish guy was a tempo boxer but Vikas applied his mind well. He used uppercuts to the chin and occasional right hooks with precision,” added Sandhu analysing the overall performance.
First up in the ring for India was Shiva and in a terrific win, the Assam boxer knocked out his rival 26 seconds into the third and final round of the bout with a brutal left hook which landed right in between the eyes of Hamout.
The Moroccan instantly collapsed in the ring, leading to an eight count following which medical attendants escorted him out in a disoriented state.
But it was not as smooth to start with for Shiva. Both the boxers hit attack mode from the first bell itself and in the opening three minutes, the judges ruled in favour of the Moroccan despite an even contest.
However, the Indian, a former silver-medallist from the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, remained relentless in his attack in the second round and drew level via a split decision.
In the decisive third round, Shiva, also a former Asian champion, sealed the issue with a precise left hook, which caught Hamout completely off-guard.