E-Paper
Thailand Open boxing: Amit Panghal in semis, four enter final
The 52kg boxer is competing in his first tournament since a first-round exit in the Tokyo Olympics
Amit Panghal returned to competition 10 months after his shock first-round loss in the Tokyo Olympics, scoring a unanimous win over home favourite Thanakon Aonyaem in the Thailand Open boxing in Phuket on Wednesday.
Panghal, the 2019 world championships silver medallist, was demolished by Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez 4-1 in Tokyo last year. Confidence dented, the flyweight (52kg) boxer took a break and did not take part at the senior nationals late last year. He was left out of the Indian squad initially before being included early this year.
On Wednesday, Panghal was tentative at the start before winning the close first round 3-2. Panghal though found his range in the second round. He moved well and was more aggressive, going for his trademark overhead punches. Aonyaem had support in the arena but Panghal dominated the next two rounds to win the quarterfinal 5-0.
Ashish Kumar, who also competed in the Olympics, continued his fine run to enter the final. Monika, Govind Sahani and Varinder Singh were the others to progress to the final. Ashish Kumar beat Maikhel Roberrd Muskita of Indonesia 5-0 in the men’s 81kg semi-final.
In women’s 48kg class, Monika, who defeated two-time world championships medallist Josie Gabuco in the quarters, beat Tran Thi Diem Kieu of Vietnam in the semis. Govind was made to sweat by Vietnam’s Nguyen Linh Phung in an intensely fought men’s 48kg semi-final. Govind, however, won by a split 4-1 decision.
Bhagyabati Kachari reached the 75kg semi-final with a 5-0 victory over Thailand’s Pornnipa Chutee in 5-0.
In the men’s 60kg division, Varinder Singh got a walkover against Palestine’s Abdel Rahman Abunab. Rohit Mor (57kg) lost 0-5 to Thailand’s Rujakran Juntrong.
