India’s biggest medal hope in boxing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, Amit Panghal finished with a silver at the recently concluded Asian Championships in Dubai.
While it was his Uzbek rival Zoirov Shakhobidin who defeated him in the final, the 25-year-old strongly believes he had won the bout and the 2-3 decision should have been overturned by the umpires, following India’s appeal soon after the bout.
‘Every time a result that went in our favour was appealed, it was overturned. But the decision of none of the results we appealed were changed. I feel if they had been pressurised a little more for a fair result, things would have been different. I feel the bout went in my favour, and the result could have been changed,’ Amit told The Quint during a video interview after his return from Dubai.
Amit is currently the top-ranked male boxer in the 52 kg category but apart from being the reigning World Champion, Zoirov Shakhobidin is ranked second and has also regularly got the better of the Indian boxer. He goes into the Tokyo games as the defending champion, but with Amit firmly believing he got the better of his senior opponent, the Indian boxer will hold the mental edge in Tokyo.
‘That’s a big positive for me, because I fought a lot better than before. Even my opponent knows that I have improved a lot and this bout, I know was mine. Because yes, a player always feels they have won but friends and coaches tell you the truth. That matters a lot and after the final, everyone told I had won the bout,’ said the 25-year-old.
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