Shiva THAPA

His impact began to be felt on the senior stage as he bagged gold in the 56kg category at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana and punched his ticket for the London 2012 Olympics.

For someone who was only cheering from in front of the television set as Akhil Kumar triumphed over world champion Sergey Vodapyanov at Beijing 2008, it was a watershed moment.

At the main event, Shiva Thapa was drawn against Mexico’s Óscar Valdez. The then 18-year-old started on the defence but fought back with a series of left-right punches in the second round. However, with Valdez taking over in the third, Shiva Thapa lost out by a 9-14 margin.

“The Olympics are always a huge occasion, there is so much more we attach to it than just the competition, and any of us who have qualified who says they are not nervous is not telling the truth,” he later noted.

Shiva Thapa, however, sprung right back up the following year, as he became the youngest Indian to win the gold medal at the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships at Amman, Jordan.

In 2015, Thapa went on to become only the third Indian after Vijender Singh (2009) and Vikas Krishan (2011) to win a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships after winning bronze in the bantamweight category in Doha.

He also went on to clinch a bronze medal in that year’s edition of the Asian Championships on the lead up to his Rio 2016 adventure.

At Rio, Shiva Thapa was once again drawn against a tough opponent in the first round of the bantamweight competition.

Cuba's Robeisy Ramirez was already an Olympic champion, having captured gold in the flyweight category at London 2012.

Hampered by a cut over his left eye, Thapa was again condemned to an early exit from the Games, suffering a 3-0 loss to his opponent, who would go on to claim the gold medal.

At the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships held in Tashkent in 2017, Shiva Thapa was in contention for the gold medal but for an injury that saw him have to settle for silver against the local pick Elnur Abduraimov.

He continued his streak at the Asian Championships in 2019 as he clinched bronze in Thailand, making him a four-time Asian medallist and then followed it up with a gold at the ‘Ready Steady Go’ Olympic Test Event held in October that year.

Shiva Thapa created history last year when he became the first male pugilist to win six Asian Championships medals when he claimed silver medal in Jordan. His previous two silver medals came in 2017 and 2021. He also clinched the title in the 2013 edition and secured bronze medals in 2015 and 2019. He has been consistently winning medals since a decade and it’s a testimony to his longevity and talent.

Shiva Thapa achievements

2023 - Gold medal at National Championships, Hisar

2022 - Silver medal at Asian Championships, Jordan

2021 - Gold at National Championships, Bellary

2021 - Silver at Asian Championships, Dubai

2019 - Gold at Senior National Championships, Bellary

2019 - Gold at India Open, Guwahati

2019 - Bronze at Asian Championships, Bangkok

2019 - 38th Gee Bee Boxing Tournament, Helsinki, Finland: Silver

2018 - Asian Games, Jakarta: Participated

2018 - Ulaanbaatar Cup 2018; Mongolia: Bronze

2018 - WSB Boxer for Indian Tigers

2018 - India Open International Tournament; New Delhi: Bronze

2017 - Indian National Championships; Visakhapatnam: Silver

2017 - Grand Prix Tournament (Usti Nad Labem, CZE): Gold

2017 - Asian Boxing Championships; Tashkent: Silver

2016 - Indian National Championships; Guwahati: Gold

2016 - Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, BRA): Participant

2016 - Southeast Asian Games; Shillong: Gold

2015 - World Championships (Doha, QAT): Bronze

2015 - ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships (Bangkok, THA): Bronze

2015 - Doha International Tournament (Doha, QAT): Gold

2014 - Commonwealth Games (Glasgow, SCO): 9th place

2013 - ASBC Asian Continental Championships (Amman, JOR): Gold

2013 - Korotkov Memorial Tournament (Khabarovsk, RUS): Bronze

2012 - London 2012 Olympic Games (London, GBR): Participant

2012 - AIBA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament (Astana, KAZ): Gold

2012 - Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem (Ustinad Labem, CZE): Silver

2011 - Indian National Championships: Gold

2011 - Beogradski Pobednik Tournament (Belgrade, SRB): Gold

2011 - Indian National Games: Silver

2010 - Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (Singapore, SIN): Silver

2010 - AIBA Youth World Championships (Baku, AZE): Silver

2009 - AIBA Junior World Championships (Yerevan, ARM): Bronze

2009 - Indian Junior National Championships: Gold

2008 - Indian Junior National Championships: Gold

2008 - Children of Asia Games (Yakutsk, RUS): Bronze

2008 - Heydar Aliyev Junior Cup (Baku, AZE): Gold