Amit Panghal Is The First Indian Boxer To Enter Men’s World Championships Final

Amit Panghal created history by entering the final round of men’s World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia. He defeated Kazakhstan’s SakenBibbisinov by split decision (3-2) in the semi-final of the flyweight (48kg-52kg) division.

Gold medal round for Phangal

Amit Panghal will take on ShakhobidinZoirov of Uzbekistan. He has been Rio Olympic champion in 52 kg category and has defeated BillalBennama of France in the semifinal category. It is the first time when Panghal will meet Zoirov.

Bronze medal for India

In another match, Manish Kaushik settled for a bronze medal after losing the game the reigning world champion, Andy Gomez Cruz of Cuba. He lost the lightweight (57kg-63kg) match by unanimous decision (5-0).

But both the boxers have qualified for the upcoming Olympic qualifier in Wuhan, China. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has already announced that boxers with medals at the Worlds will be automatic choice for Olympic qualifiers.

What does this feat mean to India?

Amit Panghal and Manish Kaushik gave India immense hope as the country had never won more than a single bronze in the previous tournaments. With his bronze, Manish Kaushik became the fifth Indian boxer after Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015) and Gaurav Biduri (2017) wo win a bronze. It was the first appearance of Manish Kaushik at the Worlds but Amit Panghal was a quarter finalist in the previous edition of (2017). Manish Kaushik, the Bhiwani boy, gave exemplary performance of his boxing skills during his final bout with the reigning champion.

Source:https://bit.ly/2kLA1Rz

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