Guwahati, Apr 11: Father of Shiva Thapa, who became the youngest Indian boxer qualified for London Olympics, hoped that his son would bring laurels to the country by winning a medal in the Games.

"It is due to the blessings of God and the people of Assam that he has become the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics. We hope he will be able to win a medal and make the country proud," Guwahati-based Padam Thapa said.

"We had not thought he (Shiva) would qualify for this year's Olympics. We were hoping his name would figure among the qualifiers for the 2016 Games," the proud father added.

Thapa is a resident of Guwahati's Birubari locality and began his initial training in Sports Authority of India campus in the city here.

Shiva Thapa (56kg) became the youngest Indian boxer to make the cut for the London Olympics.

The 18-year-old Shiva defeated Japan's Satoshi Simizu 31-17 at the Asian qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan, to enter the final and book himself a London berth.

19-year-old L Devendro Singh had booked his London Olympics berth in the last year's World Championships, tying with Debendra Singh (1996 Atlanta) as the youngest Indian boxer to make it to the Olympics. But the 1993-born Shiva broke this record.

The Assam teenager, featuring in only his second senior international event, was down 6-7 in the opening round but he turned the tables in the second round, taking a massive 15-6 lead.

PTI