Facts about Shiva Thapa
Shiva Thapa was born on the 8th of December 1993. He is an Indian boxer. He has worked with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. He has support from Olympic Gold Quest and Anglian Medal Hunt Company. Shiva Thapa was a participant in the 2012 London Olympics. He is the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics. Shiva Thapa earned 3rd position in the bantamweight category in the AIBA Men’s World Ranking. He is the third Indian to acquire gold at the Asian Games. Shiva Thapa is the third boxer from India to win a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships. He works as an Account Manager with Midland Credit management. Thapa is a member of the International Boxing Association (amateur) Athletes Committee.
He is the son of a karate instructor. Due to this, combat sports were always in Shiva Thapa’s genes. But he took his inspiration from Mike Tyson as a child. Tyson inspired the Assam lad to grab his way into the pages of Indian boxing’s history books.
Shiva Thapa was only 18 years old when he qualified for the Olympics in 2012. This made him the youngest Indian boxer ever to qualify for the Games. Before he was 22, he was already a two-time Olympian and an Arjuna Awardee.
Shiva Thapa and his elder brother Gobind have been trained under the watchful eyes of their father Padam. The father was determined to mold one of them into an Olympian.
Gobind won multiple medals in state-level boxing. This gave his younger brother someone to look up to during his formative years. Shiva Thapa soon worked hard on it and began excelling.
He managed his training alongside his studies. Shiva Thapa’s amateur career was coming along well for him. He had his first real brushes with success. He won a silver medal in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. With this, his international renown began.
His impact began to be felt on the senior stage when he won a gold medal in the 56 kg category at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. This took place in Astana. He grabbed his ticket for the London 2012 Olympics.
At the main event, Shiva Thapa against Mexico’s Óscar Valdez ended in a draw. The then 18-year-old started his game on the defense. But he then fought back with a series of left-right punches in the second round. However, Valdez took over in the third round. Shiva Thapa lost the game by a 9-14 margin.
He, however, sprung right back up in 2013. He went on to become the youngest Indian to win the gold medal at the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships. The Championship took place in Amman, Jordan.
In 2015, Thapa became the third Indian to win a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships. This was won by Vijender Singh (2009) and Vikas Krishan (2011) before him. He managed to win a bronze medal in the bantamweight category in Doha.
He also went on to bag a bronze medal in that year’s edition of the Asian Championships. He participated in the Rio 2016 adventure.
At the Rio Olympics, Shiva Thapa was once again drawn against his tough opponent in the first round of the bantamweight competition.
Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba was already an Olympic champion. He captured a gold medal in the flyweight category in London in 2012.
Hampered by a cut over his left eye, Thapa was forced to an early exit from the Games. He suffered a 3-0 loss to his opponent.
At the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in 2017, Shiva Thapa was in contention for the gold medal. This Championship took place in Tashkent. But due to an injury, Thapa had to settle for silver against the local pick Elnur Abduraimov.
He continued his game at the Asian Championships in 2019. He won a bronze medal in Thailand. This made him a four-time Asian medallist. He followed it up with a gold medal at the ‘Ready Steady Go’ Olympic Test Event held in October that year.
Shiva moved up to the 63 kg weight category. This was a division that has seen another young talent Manish Kaushik. He used to rule the roost for a while. But Shiva Thapa set upon his latest challenge in this category.
Facts
Name – Shiva Thapa
Weight(s) – Bantamweight (54 kg)
Nationality – India
Born – The 8th of December 1993
Birthplace – Guwahati, Assam, India
Boxing record
Wins by KO – 1
World Championships
Bronze medal – He secured third place – 2015 – Doha – Bantamweight
Asian Championships
Gold medal – He secured first place – 2013 – Amman – Bantamweight
Silver medal – He secured second place – 2021 – Dubai – Light welterweight
Silver medal – He secured second place – 2017 – Tashkent – Lightweight
Bronze medal – He secured third place – 2019 – Bangkok – Lightweight
Bronze medal – He secured third place – 2015 – Bangkok – Bantamweight