Samota breaks new ground,wins in Europe

Indian team had an overall good outing in the tournament,with 17-year-old Shiva Thapa also winning gold.

Paramjeet Samota,the Commonwealth Games gold medalist in the super heavy-weight category,won the title at the Winner International,Belgrade,when he beat Marceta Mane of Serbia on Sunday.

That the medal has come on the highly competitive European circuit has given Samota a confidence boost as he builds towards winning a medal at the 2012 London Games. Samota won gold in Busan Cup,Bosnia,as a junior but this is his biggest achievement outside the Commonwealth Games.

Europe has the worlds top ranked heavy-weight boxers from Russia,Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,Germany,Poland and Turkey. My aim is to win an Olympic medal next year and this experience will help me prepare for greater challenges, Samota told The Indian Express on Sunday.

Story continues below this ad

Gain also comes in the form of fighting against heavier boxers. Samota lost heavily to Zhang Zei from China,24 kilograms heavier than him,at the Asian Games in Guangzhou,but he is confident of countering the weight advantage his opponents enjoy in this category.

I am usually up against heavier boxers,and here too I have beaten heavier boxers. This is a big improvement for me. Apart from weight training,I have been playing football to improve my reflexes, Samota said.

Thapa emulates Krishan

The Indian team had an overall good outing in the tournament,with 17-year-old Shiva Thapa (56kg) also winning gold after a win over Bulgarias Delaklive Detelin. Like his junior team mate Vikas Krishan,who won gold in his first senior tournament,Thapa also won the title in his maiden senior tournament.

Manpreet Singh (91kg),the silver medallist at last years Asian Games,settled for a bronze medal after losing to Pulev Tervel of Bulgaria in the semi-final.