• CWG 2022: Amit Panghal wins maiden boxing Gold, fights again from Tokyo setback

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    CWG 2022: Amit Panghal wins maiden boxing Gold, fights again from Tokyo setback
    Panghal was initially defensive during the 2022 semifinal match as he circled the ring and encouraged Chinyemba to assault. The Zambian tried to punch, but Panghal not only avoided them, but also counterpunched with a few of his own.

    Digital Desk: Amit Panghal of India won in boxing's men's 51kg division at the Commonwealth Games, making a remarkable comeback after his Olympic loss in Tokyo. The best player in the division validated his position at the top with a strong performance in the championship match against Kiaran MacDonald in Birmingham on Sunday, August 7.

    Amit Panghal brought his "A" game, landing powerful blows, including one-twos, as MacDonald failed to take advantage of his height advantage, despite the crowd supporting the local boxer.

    By a score of 5-0, Amit Panghal won the men's 51 kg championship. He had the luxury of merely playing out the final round because he was so dominant in the first two. Amit punched the air with joy after earning his first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

    Panghal, who is the first Indian male boxer to have won a silver medal in the World Boxing Championships, stands just 5 feet and 2 inches tall. Panghal, who grew up in a farming family in Rohtak, Haryana, was inspired to take up boxing by his older brother Ajay.

    Panghal began boxing at light-flyweight (49 kg), where he won his first significant medal—bronze—in the 2017 Asian Championships.

    Following this, he won gold at the Asian Games and silver at the Commonwealth Games, both in 2018. Amit won a silver medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games four years ago, but this is his second CWG medal.

    Amit lost shockingly in the Round of 16 after entering the Tokyo Olympics as one of the strong favourites. But the victory in Birmingham will give the budding fighter the confidence to hope for a medal in Paris in 2024.

    Panghal moved directly to the Commonwealth Games final after defeating Zambian Patrick Chinyemba, an Olympian competing in Tokyo 2020, in the men's 51 kg flyweight semifinal by unanimous decision.

    Panghal, who took home the silver medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, was competing in her second straight final.

    Panghal was initially defensive during the 2022 semifinal match as he circled the ring and encouraged Chinyemba to assault. The Zambian tried to punch, but Panghal not only avoided them, but also counterpunched with a few of his own.

    Although the second round was more competitive, neither team was able to persuade the judges to advance. Panghal maintained his momentum in the decisive round, landing his counterpunches precisely and winning by unanimous decision.