8 Services, 4 Arunachal boxers enter finals of 5th Junior Boys National Championships

While eight pugilists from SSCB (Services Sports Control Board), entered the finals of the 5th Junior Boys National Championships in Itanagar at the Don Bosco College, Arunachal Pradesh boxers battled in the ring on Thursday, ensuring four silver medals and two bronze medals for the home side to match their feat with boxing powerhouse Haryana. While Tara Sonia (60 kg) and Loma Ring (50 kg) suffered heartbreaking losses and ultimately had to settle for the bronze medals.

Tagio Liyak (57 kg), Gaykie Rie (52 kg), Techi Jacky (46 kg), and Nenthok Hodong (54 kg) all recorded contrasting victories to advance into the summit clashes of their respective weight categories. With all attention on the home team, Techi Jacky opened the match to raucous applause from the diverse audience gathered at the scenic setting, and he lived up to the hype by defeating Telangana's Md Abdul Wadi Omair by a convincing 5-0 UD.

In the opening round of the 46 kg Pinweight division fight, Techi used his quickness and quick moves to great use and unnerved his opponent. He then continued to completely control the action in the following two rounds to advance to the final. He will compete against Uttarakhand's Brijesh Tamta, who defeated Gujarat's Aniket Mallah 5-0, in the championship match. Gayki Rie was not at his best when he faced Haryana's Dhruv in the 52 kg light bantamweight semifinal.

But he still managed to win the match 4-1 on a split decision. After defeating Th Nilbir of Manipur 5-0, the Sahil Board of the Services will now face Gaykie. Nenthok overwhelmed Assamese fighter Abhinash Das by a score of 3-2 in a split decision to advance to a title fight against Devang of the Services in the 54 kg bantamweight division. Nenthok had to fight hard to earn his victory since the Assamese kid matched him shot for shot until the Arunachal boxer, encouraged by the fans, found his composure in the third and final round to secure a tight outcome.

Tagio Liyak defeated Chandigarh's Arman by a score of 5-0 to go to the 57kg featherweight division final. Tagio acknowledged after the fight that although the Chandigarh fighter was equally as strong and was able to make contact, it was the Arunachal boxer's strong defense that allowed him to win with ease. Tagio will compete against Yogesh Dhanda of Haryana in the championship match. Dhanda defeated Hemanth Jana Kumar Pappu of Andhra Pradesh with a score of 5-0 UD.

In contrast, Devang won over Sundry Yadav of Uttar Pradesh in the second semifinal match with a commanding 5-0 UD victory. Other finalists according to their weight categories are Punjab’s Shriyansh (80kg), Mizoram’s Lalnunpuia (66kg), Manipur’s M Punshiba (60kg), Himachal Pradesh’s Vendant Dhauta (80+ kg), and Ladakh’s Villayat Ali (66kg).