NEW DELHI: Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa will spearhead the India squad in the men’s World Boxing Championships while last edition’s silver medallist Amit Panghal will miss out on the marquee event, scheduled to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from April 30 to May 14.

Shiva, who won World Championships bronze in Doha in 2015, will be looking to add another medal to his kitty and will be representing the country in the 63.5kg category. Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Panghal finished second behind 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Deepak Bhoria under Boxing Federation of India’s new selection policy in the 51kg flyweight category.

Deepak announced his arrival on the global stage in 2021, when he defeated 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist and 2019 world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at the Strandja Memorial tournament. “The Men’s team has been working extremely hard and I wish it all the best. I am confident each one of them will make the country proud,” said Ajay Singh, president, Boxing Federation of India (BFI), in a release.

The India team will leave for Tashkent on April 17 and will attend a multi-nation training camp before the World Championships.

SQUAD: Govind Sahani (48kg), Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Sachin Siwach (54kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Akash Sangwan (67kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), Sumit Kundu (75kg), Ashish Chaudhary (80kg), Harsh Choudhary (86kg), Naveen Kumar (92kg) and Narender Berwal (92+kg)

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