World Boxing Championships: Amit Panghal becomes first Indian man to reach a final, Manish settles for bronze

Amit Panghal became the first Indian man to reach the final of the AIBA Boxing Championships after edged out a 3:2 result against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the semi-finals at Ekaterinburg, Russia on Friday. 

After starting cautiously, Panghal got into the bout by going close to his opponent and unleashing quick 1-2 punches. The Indian was also equally adept in attack and managed to evade whatever Bibossinov had to throw at him. There were very few decisive punches from the Kazakh in the early exchanges.

Even though the Kazakh ended the second round on a high, he struggled to deal with Panghal’s jabs which made the final round a one-sided affair in Panghal’s favour.

Despite the perception that Panghal had a dominant performance, the final verdict was a close one with two judges ruling in favour of the Kazakh boxer. 

On Saturday, Amit Panghal will take on Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning Olympic champion in Championship bout. Zoirov defeated Frenchman Billal Bennama in his semifinal showdown.

There was no luck for India’s other semi-finalist Manish Kaushik of the 63kg category, though, as he was defeated by reigning world champion Andy Cruz of Cuba. Kaushik, who is guaranteed a bronze medal lost 0:5 by a unanimous decision in a bout that was fairly one-sided. Cruz worked out his opponent early and was in a dominant mood in the second and third rounds. The Cuban will now have a chance to defend his title.