Amit Panghal gave India it’s first gold medal in the men’s 52-kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships by defeating Inkyu Kim of Korea in the final of the event. In women’s 81-kg category, Pooja Rani defeated World Champion Wang Lina to add to India’s gold medal tally.
India ended the event with 13 medals – two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals – in the tournament which was held simultaneously for men and women for the first time.
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However, national champion Deepak Singh (49kg) had to settle for a silver after going down in a split verdict to Nodirjon Mirzahmedov of Uzbekistan.
Earlier, Deepak put up a gutsy performance that failed to find favour with the judges.
It was a bout in which both the boxers were mostly looking to counter-attack. Deepak”s focus was getting his straight punches across, while Mirzahmedov looked to connect right hooks occasionally.
The Indian was a clear winner in the opening round but Mirzahmedov came back strongly in the second.
fighting for the 56-kg category gold, went down fighting to Mirazibek Mirzahalilov, the reigning Asian Games champion.
Simranjit Kaur Baath, who was also up against a difficult opponent in the 64-kg final, managed to put up a good show before going down to Dou Dan, the reigning world champion.
Ashish Kumar won a fourth silver medal for India at the Asian Boxing Championships, losing out to Kulakhmet Tursynbay of Kazakhstan in the 75-kg final.
(With Agency Inputs)