Amit Panghal becomes nominee for Arjuna Award

09/11/2018

Following Indian boxer Amit Phangal's gold feat in the Asian Games Jakarta/Palembang last month, he has been nominated for the Arjuna Award among the other nominees. His nomination was made by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) on Tuesday after his past doping case became a hurdle in the process.

After the Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards are considered to be the most prestigious sports honour in India. And, Indian boxer Amit Panghal has joined the race for the award along with Sonia Lather and Gaurav Bidhuri. Amit had overwhelmed Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan, the reigning Olympic Champion, in the light flyweight (49kg) category to bag a gold medal at the Asian Games, this year.

“I am honoured to be nominated, I can’t describe how happy I am. My medal is talking for me and that is what I have always wanted,” Amit told PTI.

However, there were speculations as to whether he would be nominated for the Arjuna Award as he had received a ban of one year in 2012 for testing positive in a dope test. However, BFI had sent his name for the nomination, considering the fact that he had already suffered the punishment for the aforementioned act and he was participating at the youth level back then.

“It happened when I was just a kid who knew nothing. I was a teenager and had come to my village after being diagnosed with chickenpox, there was probably something in the medicine that the doctor gave me,” Amit said.

Since then, Amit has made remarkable achievements in his career. He clinched a bronze in the Asian Championships in May, 2017. He participated in his maiden World Championships and went to the quarter rounds before losing to Dusmatov in August, the same year. Half a year later, he bagged gold medals in the India Open and the Strandja Memorial tournament in Bulgaria.

Furthermore, he has achieved a silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year and also clinched the gold at the Asian Games 2018. In the run for the Arjuna Award, Amit would face opposition from Sonia, who was a silver holder in both World and Asia and Bidhuri, who won a bronze in Hamburg in 2017.

“It has been a dream, I am still living it. Hopefully, the Arjuna award will be the icing on the cake,” he said.