World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal pleads for recognition for coach
Amit Panghal lost in the World Boxing Championships but nevertheless became the first-ever Indian to reach the final and after the match acknowledged his coach’s contribution asking him to be presented with Dronacharya Award. He put up a strong fight but ultimately succumbed to his Uzbek opponent.
Amit Panghal put up a strong front but ultimately went down fighting to reigning Olympic champion from Uzbekistan Shakhobidin Zoirov in the final of the 52kg category of the World Boxing Championships. He is the first Indian to have reached the stage, with Vijender Singh, Vikas Krishan, Shiva Thapa and Gaurav Bidhuri having secured the bronze in previous years. Manish Kaushik also emulated their feat in the current edition.
Even the scoreline read 5-0, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The two were pretty evenly matched in the first couple of rounds as Panghal did well to dodge the Uzbek’s attacks before countering with his own swift 1-2 sequences. However, the third round took the match away from him as Zoirov was on the top of his game, with his perfectly synchronized moves proving to be too much for Panghal.
However, after the match, Panghal made a heartfelt plea in which he requested the Indian authorities to recognize the work of his formative coach Anil Dhankar.
“I began boxing in 2008 and Dhankar sir has been my rock ever since. Even now, it is Dhankar sir that I go to when I need guidance on any matter. An award for him would be an award for me too. In fact, it will make me happier,” he said of his coach, reported Scroll.in.
“As long as I am winning medals for the country, personal awards don’t matter to me."
His coach, who was a national level medallist himself, also heaped praise on the 23-year-old who is going through a purple patch at the moment. Panghal's next major test would be to qualify for Tokyo, for which he will be participating in the Asian Olympic Qualifying tournament in China in February.
“I have actually known him since 2005. To me, he is family. I have a close relationship with all his family members and he is like my own child. I still remember how skillful he came across despite being so small. He has made me very proud,” Dhankar said.
When asked about the upcoming challenges in world boxing, Panghal replied, “It is another challenge and I am trying to better myself for it. Power in punches would be crucial and I am working towards it."