Guwahati: Father of Shiva Thapa, who on Wednesday became the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the London Olympics, hoped that the teenager would bring laurels to the country by winning a medal in the games.
"It is due to the blessings of God and the people of Assam that he has become the youngest Indian boxer to qualify in the Olympics. We hope he will be able to win a medal and make the country proud," Guwahati-based Padam Thapa said.
"We had not thought he (Shiva) would qualify for this year`s Olympics. We were hoping his name would figure among the qualifiers for the 2016 games," the proud father added.
Thapa is a resident of Guwahati`s Birubari locality and began his initial training in Sports Authority of India campus in the city here.
Shiva Thapa (56kg) today became the youngest Indian boxer to make the cut for the Olympics.
The 18-year-old Shiva defeated Japan`s Satoshi Simizu 31-17 at the Asian Qualifiers` in Astana, Kazakhstan, to enter the final and book himself a London berth.
A 19-year-old L Devendro Singh had booked his London berth in the last year`s World Championships, tying with Debendra Singh (1996 Atlanta) as the youngest Indian boxer to make the Olympics. But the 1993-born Shiva has broken this record.
The Assam teenager, playing only his second senior international event (he won a gold in the maiden), was down 6-7 in the opening round but he turned the tables in the second round, taking a massive 15-6 lead.
PTI
