JCO from Rohtak makes it to Commonwealth Games

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, March 9

Junior Commissioned Officer Amit Panghal (22), son of a farmer from Myna village in Rohtak district, will represent the country in the boxing event at the XXI Commonwealth Games slated to be held at Gold Coast in Australia from April 4 to 15.

A festive atmosphere prevails in Amit’s village ever since the news of his selection for the upcoming Commonwealth Games has spread. Amit’s father Vijender Singh and grandfather Jag Ram are hopeful that he will bring laurels to the country.

Amit, who had recently joined the Army as Junior Commissioned Officer, said that he was propelled into the realm of sports by his elder brother Ajay, who is also in the Army.

Amit was born on October 16, 1995. He started boxing in 2009 while he was in school. In the same year, he bagged the gold medal at the 25th Sub-Junior National Boxing Championship held at Aurangabad.

He won silver medals at the Sub-Junior National Championships held in Chennai in 2010 and in Pune in 2011. Amit represented the state in the 45th Junior Boxing Championship organised in Patiala in 2012. He won the gold medal in the First Dr BR Ambedkar All-India Men Boxing Championship at Visakhapatnam in the same year.

Amit won gold medals at several inter-university tournaments and was adjudged the best boxer in several state-level championships. He represented India in the 2017 Asian Championship, in which he won the bronze medal. He bagged the top honours at several other national as well as international sports events.