Asian Games Disappointment for Nepal's Boxing Flag Bearer

In Nagoya, under the bright lights of Nishio Gymnasium, one of Nepal’s biggest boxing hopes walked out early.

Chandra Bahadur Thapa Magar, a World Championship bronze medallist and the country’s flag bearer at these Asian Games, fell at the first hurdle in the men’s up to 55 kg division, losing by a unanimous 5–0 decision to India’s Jadumani Singh Mandengbam.

All five judges saw it the same way. The scorecards told the story: 30–27, 29–28, 29–28, 30–27, 30–27 to Mandengbam after three brisk, bruising rounds of three minutes each.

Magar’s night took a strange turn in the final round. He was officially credited with a knockdown after hitting the canvas, but the fall came after a push rather than a clean scoring shot from the Indian boxer. It did nothing to sway the judges, who had already been leaning heavily in Mandengbam’s favour.

For Nepal, it was another painful mark on a growing list.

Third Nepali boxer out in preliminaries

Thapa Magar’s defeat made him the third Nepali boxer to exit in the preliminary phase of the tournament.

Earlier the same day, Ramisha Shrestha bowed out in the women’s up to 51 kg category. She faced Vietnam’s Thi Tham Nguyen and, like Magar, lost by a unanimous 0–5 decision on the judges’ cards.

A day before that, Dan Bahadur Darlami had suffered the same fate. He was beaten by Iraq’s Ali Qasim Hamdan Al-Sarray in the men’s up to 70 kg division, also on a unanimous decision, as Nepal’s campaign stuttered in the opening rounds.

For a team that arrived with quiet ambition, three straight preliminary exits have cut deep.

From world podium to early exit

The disappointment around Magar’s loss is sharper because of what came before.

Last year, he climbed onto the podium at the IBA Men’s World Championships, securing a bronze medal and forcing his name into the global conversation. The International Boxing Association later ranked him third in the world in the elite men’s 51–54 kg weight category, a remarkable rise for a Nepali boxer.

That pedigree, and his role as Nepal’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Nagoya, had raised expectations that he would lead from the front in the ring as well.

Instead, his Asian Games journey ended in the opening bout.

Others still swinging for Nepal

The tournament is not over for Nepal’s boxing squad, even if the early damage has been severe.

Seven Nepali boxers entered the competition; three have already seen their campaigns end. The remaining fighters now carry the weight of a nation looking for a spark.

• In the men’s up to 60 kg category, Hagendra Roka Magar was scheduled to face Macau’s Elvin John Reyes Salinas.
• In the women’s up to 65 kg division, Kusum Tamang was set to take on China’s Shu Li.
• Rabin Nepal, fighting in the men’s up to 90 kg category, was due to meet Thailand’s Jakkaphong Yomkhot.
• Asmita Duwal is also in action in the women’s up to 54 kg class.

With three teammates already out on unanimous decisions, their challenge is clear and unforgiving: change the narrative, or let these Asian Games be remembered as a tournament of missed chances for Nepali boxing.