Indian boxer Amit Panghal to focus on reach and endurance

BENGALURU: India boxer Amit Panghal (52 kg) reached his Mayna village in Rohtak, Haryana on Tuesday evening from Dubai. He plans to stay with his family for a couple of days before resuming his Olympic preparations.

In the back of his mind, he is still pondering about his narrow 2-3 loss against Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning world and Olympic champion, in the final of the Asian Championships. It was an improved show against the Uzbek boxer, who had defeated the Indian 5-0 in the 2019 World Championships and Governor’s Cup 2021, and Panghal felt, “the result (most recent) should have been in my favour.”

However, Panghal is not crying over spilt milk and is is already looking at ways on how he could build on from that brave display and win a medal at the Olympics. In fact, the boxing contingent would have been pleased that they got an opportunity to compete in a top competition before the Games, something which many other Indian qualified athletes are missing out due to Covid.

The boxer, along with other Tokyo-bound pugilists, are further expected to go for a threeweek abroad training and Panghal is looking forward to it. It would be an ideal scenario for the 25-year-old, who will most-likely face much taller pugilists than him in Tokyo and international sparring partners would help him get better prepared. It is important to note that Panghal, who clinched gold at the 2018 Asian Games in the 49 kg category, moved up to 52 kg after the former was dropped from the Olympic plan.

“Here, we are only getting one or two partners, not more due to Covid-19. The more international sparring partners I get abroad, I will try to improve my game,” Panghal told this daily in a virtual interaction. “I was initially at 49 kg and then shifted to 52, there are tall boxers, so it is important to train against such tall men. In regards to training abroad, I am going to spar and train with international boxers, whoever are there. If you look at European boxers, they are mostly tall, so I will focus on my reach and also focus on endurance while training.”