National Boxing Championship | Shiva Thapa, Manoj Kumar in semi-finals

Thapa is now almost assured of a second successive National Championship medal after he entered the semi-finals of the tournament. The 23-year-old, who is representing Assam, defeated Andhra Pradesh’s V Durga Rao in his quarterfinal bout. The World Championships bronze-medallist will now face Palwinder Singh in his lightweight semi-final clash on Sunday.

Shiva admitted that it was not an easy quarterfinal bout for him as Durga Rao fought really well.

"I have beaten him (Durga) in the past but I always knew how good a boxer he is. So I was fully prepared and came in with a set strategy," Shiva said after the bout as quoted by PTI.

"He is a hard puncher and does not move around much which makes it difficult to go at him toe to toe. So I had to move and attacked him on the counter when he tried coming close to me. It's this strategy, which worked wonders for me in the ring today. The results might have gone unanimous in my favour but I must admit it was not an easy win for me," he added.

In another clash, Commonwealth Games gold medalist Manoj who, representing Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), defeated Pawan of Haryana in the 69 Kg category.

Three-time King’s Cup gold-medallist K Shyam Kumar also managed to enter the next round of the 49 Kg category as he defeated the local favourite K Kranthi. Shyam Kumar, who also represents RSPB, had won a silver medal in the previous edition of the championship.

Playing for the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), former national champion Madan Lal (56 Kg) thrashed Manipur’s M Romajit to enter the semi-finals.

Over 300 boxers from 37 states and sports promotion boards are participating in this Championship.