Lalitpur, August 27

Sandesh Limbu of Sunsari and Kamal Thapa of Kathmandu Youth Boxing Club advanced to the men’s 75kg weight category final of the fourth Nationwide and first Novice Boxing Tournament here at the International Sports Complex today.

In all-Sunsari semi-final matches, Sandesh Limbu defeated Suman Limbu, while Thapa beat Aktesh Shrestha of Meghadut. Prashant Dahal of Kathmandu beat Uren Budhamagar of Alfa to set the 64kg weight category final match with Jawalakhel’s Saroj Sewa, who edged past Manish Dangol of Naxal ‘A’.

In the 69kg category semi-finals, Laxman Thapa of Kailali beat Tashi Sherpa of Naxal ‘A’ and Niwash Chand of Kanchanpur defeated Raju Shrestha of Kathmandu. Likewise, Karma Chhiring Gurung of Banu’s will face Saurabh Bimali of Boxing Fitness in the 60kg category final, while Dinesh Baniya of Kaski ‘B’ set the 56kg section final date with Sunsari’s Rakesh Rai.

Meanwhile, the 60kg weight category semi-final bout between Bimali and Buddha Raj Rai of Central boxing was thrown into controversy after coach Om Maskey and the boxer denied to leave the ring. Bimali earned a 5-0 victory but coach Maskey accused the judges of being unfair. Nepal Boxing Association’s media coordinator Puskar Raj Pant said coach Maskey shouted slogans against the technical team of the NBA rather than protesting against the decision. “He refused to leave the ring despite our repeated efforts. We also requested him to lodge a complaint. The move from a person who has served as the chief coach in past is a shame,” Pant said. Maskey said he was not satisfied with the decision. “The judges even don’t know how to write down the scores. I protested decision as my player had won three rounds,” he said.