Manish Kaushik continued his comeback march with a powerful win over Sandeep Doni of Andhra Pradesh to maneuver into the quarter-finals (63.5kg) of the Elite Males’s Nationwide Boxing Championships right here on Tuesday. The 2019 World Championships bronze medallist remained on target for a high-profile conflict with the seasoned Shiva Thapa.
The 2 have produced some riveting contests in lightwelter class at dwelling within the 2018-19 seasons. Kaushik upstaged the seasoned Thapa in home competitions. Identified for his technical expertise and calm temperament, Kaushik quickly established himself as India’s No.1 boxer in lightwelter.
Kaushik, who hails from India’s boxing hub Bhiwani, Haryana had a meteoric rise, claiming silver on the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Video games adopted by the world championships bronze the subsequent yr. Very quickly, Kaushik punched his ticket for the Tokyo Olympics, the place he fought arduous however misplaced to Nice Britain’s Luke McCormack within the first spherical.
It has since been downhill for the 26-year-old with accidents pegging him again. First, it was a tear in his biceps (proper hand) suffered through the Olympic qualifiers in 2020. It required surgical procedure and took a very long time to heal. Then a decrease again damage final yr additional spelt catastrophe. Although he was within the nationwide camp, Kaushik was struggling to recuperate and regain his type of 2020.
In between, Thapa bounced again to cement his place within the India workforce and received silver on the Asian Championships in November, turning into probably the most profitable male boxer within the match’s historical past. However forward of an essential season, Thapa and Kaushik’s path appears to be like set to cross once more.
On Tuesday, Kaushik, representing Providers, confirmed glimpses of his outdated self with a power-packed efficiency towards Doni, the referee stopping the competition within the second spherical. Each Kaushik and Shiva might want to win one other spherical for a mouth-watering match-up within the semi-finals. The final time they met within the trials for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Video games, Shiva was the winner.
“Manish was nonetheless not totally match however steadily he has gained confidence. On the Nationals right here he has seemed sharp and hungry,” stated Providers coach Jai Singh Patil, who labored intently with Kaushik throughout his damage section.
“When a boxer comes again from such a low section, it takes time to search out his rhythm within the ring. Even through the Providers championships, he was not at his finest. He was tentative. However within the final two bouts he has improved. Immediately, he has seemed his finest in a very long time, exhibiting good reflexes, velocity and footwork. We count on a Shiva-Kaushik conflict within the semi-final. In a means that would be the last,” Patil stated.
Mohd Hussamuddin (57kg) and Gaurav Solanki (60kg) additionally cruised to the quarter-finals. Hussamuddin beat Lallawmawma by unanimous choice and Solanki beat Harendra Singh in his round-of-16 bout, additionally by the identical margin.