Panghal sets up gold medal clash against Shakhobidin

Having learned the art of tackling taller opponents, Olympic Games-bound Amit Panghal relied on those skill to score a 5-0 win against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov on Friday and enter the gold medal match of the 54kg category in the Asian Boxing Championship.

Panghal, 25, will take on the 2016 Rio Olympic champion Zoirov Shakhobidin of Uzbekistan in the final match on Monday.

During an intense battle between World Championships silver medallist Panghal and bronze medallist Bibossinov, the Indian made a cautious start and tried to keep a distance from the opponent. He looked more aggressive later in the second round and hit some clean punches to put pressure on Bibossinov.

Panghal carried on the momentum throughout the match and stamped his authority over Kazakh boxer to secure a commanding win. Aiming to win second successive gold, the Indian boxer will take on Shakhobidin in the title showdown on Monday.

India is now assured of at least five silver medals with four women already making their way into the finals earlier on Thursday at the prestigious event which is jointly hosted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and UAE Boxing Federation.

With 15 medals confirmed, Indian contingent also achieved their highest medal haul, surpassing the previous best of 13 (2 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze) from the 2019 edition in Bangkok.

On Thursday six-time World Champion Mary Kom (51kg) alongside three more Indian women pugilists-Pooja Rani (75kg), Anupama (+81kg) and Lalbuatsahi (64kg)-progressed into the finals. The defending champion Pooja received a walk-over against Mongolia’s Munkhbat. While in the other last-4 bouts played late on Friday night, Lalbuatsaihi was declared winner after her opponents from Kuwait Noura Almutairi abandoned the bout in the second round following the Indian’s relentless attack. Anupama (+81kg) also emerged victorious against Mokhira Abdullaeva of Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, it was heartbreak in the 54kg as the two-time youth world champion Sakshi Chaudhary, who was initially adjudged as winner, lost her place in the final and had to settle with bronze medal after the opponent Dina Zholaman appealed to review the last round of bout.

The jury upheld the claim and altered the result in favour of Kazakh boxer. Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Jaismine (57kg) Monika (48kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Saweety (81kg) are the other women boxers who secured bronze medals after enduring defeats in their respective last-4 clashes.

The International Boxing Association, AIBA has allocated $4,00,000 prize money for the on-going Championships. The gold medallists of men’s and women’s categories will be awarded with $10,000 while both the silver and bronze medal winners will take home $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.

Final matches of women’s and men’s categories will take place on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The event has witnessed the presence of 150 boxers from 17 countries including strong boxing nations such as India, Uzbekistan, Philippines and Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, as six-time world champion Mary kom prepares for the upcoming Olympic Games, she rues the lack of sparring partners and quality competitions due to the pandemic.

“There are not many international competitions. Therefore, I decided to attend the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai. I competed in the Boxam Tournament in Spain two months ago and since then I have been training at home in India,” the 38 years old Indian boxer told AIBA, the world governing body of the sport.

Marykom has qualified in the 51 kg category. The second wave of coronavirus has upset her preparation for the Olympics, she points out.

“Many of my sparring partners have tested positive. If you win, you don’t have to overestimate the success; just continue your hard work. I am not overconfident, and am looking forward to the final against the well-known Kazakh boxer [Nazym Kyzaibay at the Asian Championships],” said Marykom.