The quarterfinal victory in the men´s 81 kg weight category has assured him of at least a bronze medal, although Maharjan´s aims are high. [break]
Maharjan, who is determined to reach the final, didn´t allow his opponent to score any points and defeated the Thai number one with a wide 4-0 margin.
“I feel that my aim to fight in the final will be fulfilled. I had come from Kathmandu with the determination to win. I can´t express how glad I am to bag the first medal for my country,” said the Nepal champion who has been ruling the domestic ring for past four years in his weight category.
After the victory, he descended the ring and ran around to thank his supporters. He posed for photographs with the officials and then went out to send SMS to his wife Sujina Lama, whom he considers his good luck charm.
“I have been winning all the matches since I got married,” said the 26-year-old boxer who tied the knot with his sweetheart eight months ago.
“That´s why I consider her lucky. I won bronze in the King´s Cup held in Thailand in April soon after I got married and luck has been favoring me ever since. Though I´ve secured bronze here, my aim is still unfulfilled. I want to secure at least a silver by winning the semifinal,” added Maharjan whose aspiration to win gold in the 11th South Asian Games, held earlier this year in Bangladesh, was quashed after the organizers slashed his weight category at the last minute.
Maharjan, who will face India´s Dinesh Kumar on Wednesday, is highly motivated after the win and has expressed confidence on advancing into the final. “I have watched the bout of Dinesh. He is a good player but I can defeat him,” Maharjan said.
Maharjan´s coach Prachanda Sharma attributed the victory to the incessant training that he was undergoing. “We had been training for a long time. The 24-days training in Thailand was also instrumental in our victory,” said Sharma.
Deepak Maharjan (File photo)
“We got an opportunity for sparring with the same opponent we defeated today. That´s why we were able to study him properly,” he said.
“The agony of being left out in the SAG has been lessened with my triumph here. The relentless training that I went through for the SAG has come to use in Asiad,” he said.
Nepal Boxing Association´s General Secretary Rajiv Shrestha said the victory, following Puran Rai´s success a day ago, has given a new life to Nepali boxing.
Maharjan broke the medal-drought of twenty years in the history of Nepali boxing in Asiad. The last time that a Nepali boxer won any medal in the Asiad was in 1990 when Chitra Bahadur Gurung claimed Nepal´s only bronze in Beijing.
Other boxers who bagged bronze medals in the 1986 Asiad are late Dal Bahadur Rana Magar, Tul Bahadur Thapa, Manoj Shrestha and Sushil Pokhrel.
Maharjan, a resident of Bosigaun of Kathmandu, was busy receiving phone calls from his friends and family members till late Friday evening. He dedicated his victory to the encouragement of his wife, friends and coaches.
The boxer who had started as a brick supplier to fulfill his responsibility as a husband said that the whole village folks back home were celebrating his victory.
Tennis
Nepali tennis players ended their Asian Games tour on Friday with the losses. Kumar Adhikari lost to Filipino Trit Conrad 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of men´s singles while Nepali pair of Malika Rana and Aslesha Lissanevitch was crushed 0-6, 0-6 by Albina Khabikulina and Amanuradova of Uzbekistan. Nepali team manager Jyoti Rana said the Asiad tour was successful in terms of giving Nepali players international exposure and increasing their ratings.
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