Amit Panghal: On a quest to bury the ghosts of his past

When Amit Panghal secured a unanimous 5-0 victory over Chinese boxer Liu Chuang at the World Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Bangkok, it was mission accomplished.

The coveted quota for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 was secured.

Despite winning Commonwealth Gold in 2022, a changed policy decision prevented him from entering the ring for a long time. And after being snubbed due to his poor performance at the Tokyo Olympics 2021, Pangal would have heaved a sigh of relief on making the Olympic cut.

I got you brother

Amit Panghal didn’t have much as a kid growing up.

Hailing from a farming household in Rohtak, Haryana, Amit and his brother Ajay Panghal literally boxed their way out of poverty.

Amit was inspired by his brother Ajay, an amateur boxer himself who played a significant role in shaping Amit’s career. Ajay helped mould Amit’s career by working as a havildar in the Indian Army and has always been there as a support system.

Ajay has embodied the spirit of the song 'I Got You Brother' for his younger brother Amit Panghal.

Career-defining moment

Amit Panghal joined Chhoturam Boxing Academy where his brother Ajay trained. He was guided by coach Anil Dhankar and rose his way through the junior ranks quickly.

Although Amit felt insecure about his height when facing taller boxers, he later turned that insecurity into a blessing by finding his own way. He has always countered his physical disadvantage with lightning-quick punches.

Amit, with his steely resolve, started with a bang by winning the gold medal in his very first nationals in 2017. This success also followed him to the international stage, where he won a bronze medal in light flyweight division at the Asian championships in Tashkent that same year.

Although Amit won back-to-back medals both in nationals and international competitions, he considers his defeat against Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan, the Rio 2016 light flyweight gold medalist in the quarter-final of 2017 world championships as a career-defining moment that shaped him as a boxer.

Boxing up the ranks

Amit quickly boxed his way up the ranks by winning multiple medals across tournaments. He started 2018 strongly by winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, defeating former Olympian Sulemanu Tetteh of Ghana in that tournament.

Later that year, he redeemed himself against Hasanboy Dusmatov, whom he had previously lost to in a career-defining moment, by defeating him at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and won the gold medal.

Panghal dominated even after moving up in weight from light-flyweight to the flyweight (52kg) division. Unfazed by the transition, he cited his upbringing, where he regularly faced taller and bigger opponents, which defined his childhood.

Amit found success in the new division too by defeating Hasanboy Dusmatov again and eventually winning the final against South Korea’s Kim In-kyu, securing a gold medal at the 2019 Asian Championships.

Scripting history

2019 was a year to remember not only for Amit Panghal but for the entire Indian boxing community, as he scripted history by becoming the first Indian boxer to reach the final of the world boxing championship.

Until Amit, no other Indian had reached the final.

Previous Indian medalists in the event had won bronze, including Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015), Gaurav Bidhuri (2017) and Manish Kaushik (2019). Amit settled for silver after losing his final bout to Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the championship held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Amit also rose to world No 1 ranking after his superb show in his weight class at the championship, according to the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) rankings.

Little did he imagine that a downfall awaited him in his career after achieving this high.

Ghost of Tokyo

Amit Panghal’s journey to his first-ever Olympics in Tokyo was nothing short of a dream run. He first booked his place for the quadrennial event by defeating Carlo Paalom of Philippines in the Asia-Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers.

This achievement was followed by a gold medal at the Cologne World Cup in Germany. Shortly before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, he gained a silver medal at the 2021 Asian Championship. These accolades had already earned him the title of 'India’s most celebrated boxer' sans a medal.

However, the Olympics that Amit Panghal had dreamed of came to a sudden halt when he lost his opening bout against the Rio 2016 medallist Yuberjen Martinez of Colombia. Despite a strong start, he could not maintain his composure against the experienced opponent.

But Amit Panghal redeemed himself quickly in no time by winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham 2022 in the 51 kg flyweight division against Kiaran MacDonals of England.

However, the ghost of Tokyo continued to haunt him and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) regarding Amit.

Bernand Dunne, the new high-performance director, suggested changes that the BFI agreed and this kept Amit Panghal out of major international tournaments.

A new evaluation process devised by Bernard prevented Amit from competing and caused controversy. Deepak Bhoria, who had risen through the ranks, benefited from this new system and was selected ahead of Amit, prompting Amit to protest by moving to court.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

After a poor showing in the first World Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy, where none of the nine participating Indian boxers including Deepak Bhoria managed to secure a quota for the Paris Olympics 2024, Bernard Dunne tendered his resignation, allowing Amit Panghal to re-enter the circuit.

BFI selected Amit Panghal to join the national team at a camp in Thailand before the boxing qualification tournament for the Paris Olympics. However, Amit decided to stay behind to train under his childhood coach Anil Dhankar and BI Fernandes, India’s chief boxing coach.

Gradually, Amit Panghal regained his mojo, training hard on his physical fitness, and most importantly, his confidence.

Amit Panghal got off to a jittery start in the final bout against China’s Liu Chuang for his ticket to Paris, with Liu Chuang dominating in round 1. However, Amit quickly shrugged off the initial setback and came back strongly in round 2, proving that he is still India’s No. 1 choice in his weight division for the Olympics.

In round 3, he cemented his authority and booked his ticket to Paris, demonstrating he was capable of rising up to the occassion.

Fortune favors the brave

Amit Panghal’s return to the ring has been littered with pitfalls.

After the disappointment at the Tokyo Olympics and the snub due to the change of system, Amit had to keep the composure and seize the opportunity when it came knocking at his door.

He remained brave and waited patiently until fortune favored him.

And now, he has the chance to put the ghosts of Tokyo to bed and return with a medal from Paris Olympics.