He dreamt of attaching the word Olympian to his name and he finally managed to that after he reached the finals of 56-kgs Asian Olympic Qualifying event in Astana. Shiva Thapa not only assured himself a silver medal in the event, but in the process also became the youngest Indian boxer ever to have qualified for Olympics.

The journey, however, has not been easy for him and he did face a lot of adversities on his way to booking a berth to London Games. But he made sure that they just bring the best out of him and his determination made help him conquer his long standing dream of representing India at the mega event.

How it all started:

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to play sports and wanted to be a sportsperson. But I was not quite sure about it. I started off with karate and was coached by my father. But then I could not sustain my interest in it and shifted to football. I played well but then realized that I wanted to mark my name in individual sport. But never could zero on in anything. Then one day watching a live fight between Mike Tyson and Lenox Lewis on HBO was what actually motivated me to join boxing and I finally decided on this sport,” said the 18-year-old boxer, who hails from Guwahati, Assam.

Dad’s role:

His dad, Padam Thapa, is the man behind his success and Shiva does not shy away from admitting his dad’s role in his achievements. “India would not have seen Shiva the boxer, had it not been not been for my dad. When I told that I actually wanted to go for boxing, he encouraged me and took me to the gym and then later to SAI, Guwahati where I received my first training. He made it possible for me at every step to carry on with the game.  My dad was just a karate instructor and he had a big family to take care of. But never did he leave any stone unturned to see that my training goes on without any glitches. I owe everything to him and would never have words to express his influence on my life,” added Shiva.

Belief: That is what kept him going:

He always had this belief that he had it in him to go the distance and it did act as a great factor behind his success. “I started boxing professionally in the year 2004 and I never turned back after that. I always knew what I wanted out of life and kept working for it. I won lot of medals but my real turning point in my life was winning the silver at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games. It made me more determined and I thought that if I could win medal at the Youth Games then why not at the Olympics. This is the belief which has made me achieve whatever I have achieved,” said the youngest Indian boxer to have qualified for Olympics.

Success Mantra:

“I never get complacent no matter however good I am boxing or if I know that my opponent is a lower ranked boxer than me. I just go out and do my stuff and if I am better on that given day, I would emerge a winner or else I will just wait for the next opportunity. I am confident before any bout, but never over confident. And I think that as long as I have that in me, I can succeed,”

Goal:

“My goal in life is to win a medal for my country in Olympics. I don’t when would it possibly happen but I am determined on achieving it,” added Shiva.
Indian Sports News