At the end of three rounds, when Shiva Thapa and Abhinash Jamwal stood in the middle of the ring grinning at each other, one wouldn’t think that they had spent the last nine minutes furiously trying to hit each other.
“It’s how we say hello and ‘good to see you’ to each other,” says Thapa after the prelims of the nationals. One of the marquee clashes at the nationals over the years, Thapa vs Jamwal, is now a staple bout – one that usually would be a final in their weight category but was a prelim at the Indoor stadium of the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida on Monday.
Clash of generations
These bouts at the nationals, once won by the Assamese boxer and now being snatched away by Jamwal, are about as peaceful a transition as it could be from one former champion boxer to a future hopeful. Thapa, a World Championship bronze medallist and one of India’s youngest boxers to be a part of an Olympic Games, is now 32.
Jamwal was India’s best boxer on the men’s side at the World Championships in Liverpool last year, losing a close decision to former Olympic bronze medallist Lasha Gurulli and has grown leaps and bounds and won a silver medal at the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida last year.
On Monday, in front of a crowd that was a mix of boxers waiting for their bout, trainers and friends roaming around the indoor stadium, and officials, both went at it. As the bout was set to begin, people started to surround the ring, knowing the quality of boxing on offer.
Jamwal knows Thapa all too well, as well and watching the Himachal boxer defend himself in between exchanges shows just how much of an influence the senior boxer has had over the years on his style. (BFI)
For all of his inabilities to win at big tournaments, Thapa remains stylistically a fun boxer to watch. He’ll walk out with his chin tucked under his shoulder, leg sticking far out and go up against boxers far bigger and way stronger than him. Now with both operating at the 65kg category, the gulf in size and stance is even bigger.
Jamwal knows Thapa all too well, as well and watching the Himachal boxer defend himself in between exchanges shows just how much of an influence the senior boxer has had over the years on his style.
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The result of the bout is a foregone conclusion. Jamwal has become too good. But for Thapa, boxing has now become about more than the wins and losses.
“How I am active in boxing right now isn’t the only thing that motivates me. How I’m around people, around younger boxers, and my opponents, is also a source of motivation,” says Thapa after the bout. “The more I play, the more I actively participate, the more I think about boxing. I’m still trying to be in the sport because I love it.”
Gaining experience
After his win, the young boxer’s first words were admiration for Thapa.
“Bhaiya ke saath jab bhi khelta hun experience badta hai. (I gain more experience whenever I face him). There are plenty of times where we will sit and talk about our fights afterwards. He feints a lot and uses his range differently, and that’s something that I use for fights against other boxers,” says Jamwal.
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Thapa too spoke about how with Jamwal, it isn’t always about the results because at the core are two boxers who are trying to get better. And how that drive is what will make Jamwal a force internationally.
“He is not just a good boxer. He is a good human being. He has sportsmanship. We sparred maybe hundreds of times. This kind of boxer, they grow because they don’t just look up to the sport as, you know, something that they can get something out of. He has drive,” says the 32-year-old.
It’s a glowing recommendation for a young boxer who has overtaken him. After Nishant Dev’s exit from amateur boxing to turn pro, the onus of winning medals at the biggest stage has now shifted to Jamwal. In a busy 2026, one that will see the Asian Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games – all events where Indian boxers will come up against some of the best boxers in the world, he has now had the best home preparation as he turns towards taking over internationally.
