Amit Panghal: Olympic medal ke liye jaan laga doonga

When we met boxer Amit Panghal a little over a year ago just after the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he was disappointed on losing the gold medal fight to Olympic champion, Hasanboy Dusmatov. “I am quite disheartened about losing out on the gold, particularly because it was such a close fight. But I will make up for it in the coming tournaments and games. Wahan se toh champion bann ke hi aayenge bas,” he had told us. The 23-year-old has more than kept his promise. After winning gold in the Asian Games in September, Amit extended his winning streak by winning another gold in the Asian Championships, last week. Speaking to us after returning to India, the Haryana boxer said, “It feels great. My hard work is bearing fruit now. And when the results of the hard work show, you feel motivated to do more and the happiness and satisfaction is just great.”
In both his gold medal wins, he beat Dusmatov, the man who was once his nemesis. Now, Amit feels he has the measure of the Uzbek boxer. “I understand his game now,” he says confidently, “I have beaten him twice in a row. My first win, in the Asian Games last year, was a 3-2 decision. It was a close bout. This one was 4-1. My focus was to win more comprehensively and that’s what I did.” But the Rohtak-born fighter is in no mood to rest or celebrate just yet. He is eyeing bigger glory- the tag of a world champion. “The World Championship, which serves as the Olympic qualifier as well, is in September. If I face Dusmatov there, I will beat him with an even bigger margin,” says Amit. As an afterthought, he tells us his final goal. He says, “My target is to win an Olympic medal for my country. Iske liye main apni jaan laga doonga!”

Amit moved to Gurgaon as a kid, and trained in the Millennium City for close to a decade before signing up with the Army. When it comes to sports, he believes that the city has lagged behind other Haryana towns, but also thinks that things are about to change. He says, “It will happen soon because we are getting a lot of good, young boxers from Gurgaon now. A lot of kids won medals in the Khelo India Games as well. Gradually, it is picking up pace. I think after 2020, we will see a lot of good boxers coming out of Gurgaon. The culture there is changing. People are more into sports now.”
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