Bangkok: Boxers Pooja Rani and Amit Panghal gave India two gold medals at the Asian Boxing Championships on Friday.
Pooja defeated reigning World Champion Wang Lina in the final to claim top honours in the 81-kg weight category. This was her third medal at this prestigious tournament after a silver in 2012 and a bronze in 2015.
Meanwhile, Simranjit Kaur Baath had to remain content with silver after losing to reigning world champion Dou Dan of China in the finals of the 64-kg category.
Last year, Simran had lost to the Chinese in the World Championships in the semi-finals.
In the men’s event, 2018 Asian Games champion Amit Panghal clinched gold in the 52-kg category after defeating Korea’s Kim Inkyu in a unanimous decision, thereby winning his second gold of the year.
Panghal started in his usual aggressive style.
The strategy of stumping rivals with relentless attacks paid off against Inkyu and the Korean simply had no answer to Panghal’s aggression.
The 23-year-old, who was participating in his maiden international competition since moving up to 52kg from 49kg earlier this year, had come into the tournament on the back of a gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February.
“It all went as I had planned. I am very happy. As for my bouts, I am satisfied with how I performed,” Panghal, who is now assured of a berth in the world championships later this year, told PTI.
However, national champion Deepak Singh, Kavinder Singh Bisht and Ashish Kumar had to settle for silver medals after losing in the finals.
While Singh lost to Nodirjon Mirzahmedov of Uzbekistan in the 49-kg category, Bisht went down fighting in the final of the 56-kg category against current Asian Games champion Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov of Uzbekistan. Kumar also lost in his maiden final in the 75-kg category.
India finished the Asian Championships with 13 medals in total which included two gold, four silver and seven bronze. While the men won one gold, three silver and three bronze, the women bagged a gold, one silver and four bronze medals. (Agencies)
