New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) and Youth Olympics silver medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) entered the finals of the Winner's international boxing tournament in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday.
Samota, also a bronze medallist at the 2010 Asian games, beat the strong Kazak Rygebayev Rustam 10-8 in the semifinals Saturday.
Samota was leading after the first two rounds but lost the advantage to Rustam in the third before making stunning recovery in the end to set up a summit clash with Marceta Mane from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Shiva Thapa riding his purple patch drubbed Hungarian opponent Nagy Krisztian 12-7 to seal a berth in the final.
The 17-year-old Thapa, a silver-medallist from the Youth World Championships, has displayed exceptional skill in the tournament and will now face Bulgaria Delaklive Detelin in the battle to be crowned the champion at the "Belgrade Winner".
However, there was disappointment for Manpreet Singh, who had to settle for a bronze after losing to Pulev Tervel of Bulgaria in the semifinals.
Manpreet, a silver medallist at the Asian Games, had fought well in the quarters but today Tervel proved to be too strong for him.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 22:51