Boxers finish campaign on a high

Lalitpur, December 10

Nepal finished high in boxing competition under the 13th South Asian Games on a high after Sanil Shahi added third gold medal on the final day.

Shahi defeated Varinder Singh of India in the men’s 60kg final at the International Sports Complex. Shahi had beaten Bhutan’s Nima Dorji on Friday to make it to the final. Sura Krishna Chakma of Bangladesh and Jeewantha Nisshanka Bamunu Archhhil of Sri Lanka claimed bronze medals.

Shahi said he had to make him mentally strong to fight against his opponent. “It was not easy as I knew the opponent was very strong. I am extremely happy with the achievement as I was able to win gold in my first appearance. My coaches have put in a lot of hard efforts in my journey to gory,” he added. “I was shaking at times during the bout but I was determined to fight after I heard the cheers from crowd.”

On Monday, Minu Gurung had become the first Nepali woman boxer to win gold medal before Bhupendra Thapa Magar claimed first men’s section gold in 20 years. Four other Nepali boxers lost in finals on Tuesday as India dominated the ring. Mala Rai lost to Pinki Rani in the women’s 51kg, while Aziz Razia Bano of Pakistan and Athawuda Achchilage Kosala Nilmini of Sri Lanka claimed bronze medals.

In women’s 57kg weight category, Sonia Lather of India won gold beating Sri Lankan boxer Lankapurayalage Krismi Ayoma Dulanj, while Chandra Kala Thapa of Nepal and Mehreen of Pakistan bagged bronze each. In 64kg, Punam Rawal of Nepal faced defeat at the hands of Indian boxer Manju Bomboriya. Perveen Rukhsana of Pakistan bagged bronze.

Rawal was directly drawn in the final.

In men’s section, Ganesh Pradhan lost to Sri Lanka’s Wanni Arachchige Rumesh Sandakelum in the 81kg weight category final, while India’s Sachin Kumar and Awais Ali Khan took bronze medals. Likewise, Ashish Duwadi of Nepal lost to Narender of India in the above-91kg final. Rallage Niwamela Eramda Addiralara of Sri Lanka finished third.

Also, Kumar Sparsh of India beat Asif Syed Muhammad of Pakistan in men’s 52kg final, while Nepal’s Tej Bahadur Deuja and Kuda Vithanage Lasindu Eranda of Sri Lanka won bronze medals. In the 69kg section final, Vikas Krishnan won gold after beating Pakistan’s Zaib Gul, while Nepal’s Bikash Lama and Bangladesh’s Md Abdur Rahim bagged bronze medals.

Squash 

LALITPUR: Nepal bagged two bronze medals in squash.

Arhant Keshar Singh, Amrit Thapa Magar, Amir Blon and Deepak Thapa finished third along with Sri Lanka in men’s team event. Pakistan and India bagged gold and silver respectively. In women’s section, the Nepali team of Krishnaa Thapa, Bhavana Sunuwar, Bipana Blon and Swasthani Shrestha came third in team event along with Sri Lanka. India bagged gold and Pakistan won silver in women’s section. India and Pakistan won one each gold medal in singles.

Judo 

LALITPUR: Nepal added bronze medal in judo after the hosts finished third in mixed team event along with Bangladesh. India won all four bouts on their way to claiming gold medal, while Pakistan bagged silver. Punam Sherstha and Devika Khadka won gold medals for the home country.

Basketball 

KATHMANDU: Nepal finished second in women’s basketball at the NSC covered hall. Nepal faced a 127-46 defeat at the hands of India in the final. Anusha Malla was the top scorer for Nepal with 17 points. Maldives beat Bhutan 83-46 to finish third.

In men’s section, India defeated Sri Lanka 101-62 in the final match, while Nepal beat Bangladesh 81-59 riding on 19 points from Ashim Shrestha in third-place match. India won both gold medals in 3X3 basketball.

Nepal bagged silver in men’s section and Sri Lanka came third, while Sri Lanka and Nepal were second and third respectively in women’s section.

The post Boxers finish campaign on a high appeared first on The Himalayan Times.