Life in lockdown: World’s top boxer Amit Panghal does household chores; watches Ramayan

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Mayna (Rohtak), May 3

Amidst the ongoing lockdown imposed to check the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal, who is the first-ever Indian boxer to have won a silver medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championship, is spending time with his family at their home located in Mayna village of Rohtak district.

Amit, who ranked World No.1 in 52 kg category by the International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force recently and has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, does household chores, maintains fitness by exercising and practising, serves his grandfather and relishes ‘desi’ Haryanavi delicacies such as ‘churma’ and ‘chulhe ki roti’ prepared by his mother.

“The lockdown has given me an opportunity to stay at home. I interact with my family members, play and exercise with children in my extended family and watch Ramayan and Mahabharat on TV,” says Amit, who is fondly addressed as Meetu by his near and dear ones.

Apart from attending to domestic chores such as shifting food-grains to the storage place and bringing LPG cylinders, Amit also does social work by collecting cooked food from his fellow villagers and taking it to the village temple, where stranded travellers are lodged.

The boxer has contributed to the PM Cares Fund and has been taking care of a group of migrant labourers who were staying at his village and had been rendered jobless due to the ongoing lockdown.

Amit, who is serving as a junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army, also practices boxing regularly, though he feels constrained due to lack of a sparring partner.

He feels the youth should stay away from drugs and intoxicants like alcohol and maintain physical and mental fitness in order to do well in their personal and professional lives.

Amit’s father Vijender Singh and mother Usha maintain that their son has brought pride to the family and country and would do the nation proud in the upcoming Olympics as well.