‘Gold, my tribute to martyrs’

New Delhi, February 20

“It hurt a little bit more because I belong to the Army,” said Indian boxer Amit Panghal about the Pulwama terror attack in which at least 44 CRPF personnel lost their lives. Panghal dedicated his gold medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament to the victims of last Thursday’s attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama. 

The Asian Games gold-medallist won his second consecutive Strandja Memorial gold when he out-punched Kazakhstan’s Temirtas Zhussupov in the final of the 49kg class in Sofia on Tuesday. He was the lone Indian male boxer to grab a medal at the event.

The 23-year-old Naib Subedar said the Pulwama attack was on his mind through the tournament. The deadly attack took place the day the Indian team left for Sofia.

Desperate for medal

“Main khud Army se hun, dard isliye thoda zyada tha. I was desperate for a medal because I wanted to dedicate it to the heroes who lost their lives in Pulwama,” Panghal said over the phone from Sofia. “This was my mindset the moment I got to know of the attack after landing here.”

India finished with seven medals — three gold, a silver and three bronze medals — in Sofia. Among the women gold-winners, Nikhat Zareen (51kg) had also dedicated her medal to the slain CRPF men.

“I was in touch with my family members during the tournament and they also told me that I had to win a medal in honour of the Pulwama martyrs. I was doubly motivated by this thought,” Panghal said.

The motivation came handy as Panghal battled to reduce weight in the run-up to the event. “It was difficult to get the right weight because of the cold here. So, I went to bed hungry for a couple of days, trained the next morning to ensure that I was ready at the time of weigh-in,” Panghal said.

Tough field

Panghal’s campaign looked effortless but the Rohtak boxer said the competition he faced this time was a notch higher than what he came across last year. “...Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine fielded their strongest line-ups. This was not the case last time. The guy I fought in the final was the bronze-medallist from the Asian Games last year and had won in India during a World Series of Boxing bout,” he said.

Panghal revealed that Strandja was his last competition in the 49kg division. “I have no choice but to jump to 52kg because 49kg is not there in the Olympics program for Tokyo 2020,” he said. “This was my last competition in 49kg. I will be competing in the 52kg category if I am selected for the Asian Championships. It is going to be very tough for me because 49kg is a weight class that I am comfortable in.”

Asked about the specific challenges that the transition would bring with it, Panghal said, “I am going to need a lot more power and it is not going to be easy but I am confident of making it happen.” — PTI