DNA Exclusive: Asian Games boxing gold medalist Amit Panghal reveals success mantra despite height problems

When one looks at boxers anywhere in the globe, the first major impression that fans have is they are tall, strong and powerful. However, for this particular boxer, he was strong and powerful but was not tall. At five feet two inches, he was comfortably the shortest male boxer on the circuit. Amit Panghal of India had a major disadvantage. In addition, he was making the move from the 49 kg category to the 52 kg category, a venture into the unknown for this 25-year-old boxer from Mayna in Rohtak.  Many said that the success Amit Panghal acquired during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta where he won the gold medal in his first attempt by beating 2016 Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the 49 kg category would just be a one-off.

However, Amit Panghal kept his head down and trained. He requested two months from the officials in the Boxing Camp to train for the 52 kg category. The officials gave him three months. That period proved to be a blessing for Amit Panghal as he created history. In the 2019 Asian Championships in Bangkok, he secured gold by beating Olympic bronze medalist Kim In-Kyu of Korea. In the same year, Amit Panghal became the first Indian male boxer to secure a silver medal in the World Championships in Yekaterinberg after losing the final to Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, another Olympic champion. In February 2020, Amit Panghal added one more feather to his cap by sealing his spot for the Tokyo Olympics

In an exclusive interaction with DNA, Amit Panghal revealed how he overcame the dual problems of height and different weight category for success. “In 49 kg category, I was the shortest. In the 52 kg category, the height of the boxers are even more. I was preparing for this. It is a big thing to go out of our established weight category and enter into a different level where we have no idea. We do not know how the boxers of a different category are. We do not look at boxers from other categories. We have no idea how the boxer trains in his weight category and how he fights. To start fighting in a different category is very difficult. However, as I started, video analysis and discussions with my coach revealed that a higher weight category boxer will have greater power and height. I modified my training accordingly,” Amit Panghal said.

Catching up with the world

However, when it comes to success in the Olympics, India has always struggled. Although Indian boxers are securing medals on a regular basis in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games as well as in World and Asian Championships, Amit Panghal believes that India’s boxers can secure a medal ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“Indian sportsmen are very hard working. The only area which we lagged behind was in the technique. However, the hiring of foreign coaches and the co-ordination with Indian coaches has been superb. Thus, the schedule and the training regime that they put in place is the same what foreign boxers undergo. We are doing the same what foreign boxers are doing and it is showing in our performances. We have managed to change the colour of our medal to gold on a consistent basis. We have also won more medals. Our training, when it comes to technique, is on the right path,” Amit Panghal said.

The coronavirus pandemic stalled sporting activities for close to eight months but Amit Panghal has shown no signs of rustiness as he secured the gold medal in the Alexis Vastine International Boxing Tournament in Nantes, France in October. Amit Panghal is happy that the coronavirus pandemic has given him more time to prepare.

“It is good that we have gotten more time to practice for the Tokyo Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our preparations were good heading into the Olympics. But now, this break has given us more time to focus on whatever weaknesses we have to iron out. In the full lockdown, I practised with my coach,” Amit Panghal said.

Arjuna Award, Asian Games success, Commonwealth and World Championship breakthroughs, all in the space of three years and at 25 years of age. India’s eyes on that elusive gold medal in boxing will be trained on Amit Panghal as he aims to break the jinx in grand style in 2021.