At least 75,000 US dollars in prize money is guaranteed, this is the largest prize money won by a Nepali athlete in an individual event of an international competition.
Nepali boxer Chandra Bahadur Thapa is set to make a historic breakthrough at the World Boxing Championship. Chandra Bahadur has reached the semifinals in his weight category at the ongoing IBA Men's World Boxing Championship in the UAE. By reaching the semifinals, he is entitled to at least a bronze medal. This will be the first historic medal that Nepal is going to win at the World Boxing Championship.
Chandra, in the 54 kg weight category, made Nepal proud by defeating Iranian boxer Mehdi Kazemi 5:0 by unanimous decision. He had earlier defeated boxers from Indonesia and Armenia to make it to the quarterfinals. He has secured a prize of at least 75,000 US dollars for the bronze medal. This is also the largest prize money won by a Nepali athlete in an individual event in an international competition.
He will face a Kazakhstan athlete in the semifinals. If he wins, Chandra will reach the final and become entitled to a prize of 150,000 US dollars. This will be the biggest success in Nepali boxing history along with the prize money.
Chandra Bahadur, who is in the Mission 2026 camp, plays domestic competitions for Nepal Police Club. He started his boxing career in 2074 BS from Alpha Boxing Club in Dang. Chandra, who came third in the 7th and 8th National Games, won gold in the 9th National Games. With half a dozen international competitions under his belt, his biggest success is the World Championship.
After winning the quarterfinals, he told Kantipur, ‘I am very excited, a big dream has come true. Winning a medal in the World Championship was a dream for me.’ He said that now his goal is to win medals in the Asian and Olympic Games. His coach, Deepak Maharjan, said that Chandra has also fulfilled his dream. IBA Three Star Coach Maharjan said, ‘When I was a player, I also had a dream of winning a medal in the World Championship. That could not be fulfilled. I was only able to win a medal in the Asian Games. Now my player has fulfilled it. I am also very happy. Nepali boxing has reached great heights.’
Similarly, 48 kg weight Lal Bahadur Upreti was defeated in the quarterfinals. After an impressive performance, he was defeated by Temirtas Jusupova of Kazakhstan 5:0. He reached the quarterfinals by defeating boxers from Ethiopia and Moldova. Coach Maharjan said that he received a prize of 10 thousand dollars. 5 boxers from Nepal participated in the competition.
