Indian boxer Amit Panghal still angry about final loss

New Delhi: He is still a bit angry about that “unfair” loss in the finals but Olympics-bound Indian boxer Amit Panghal (52kg) today described his silver-winning performance at the Asian Championships as the best of his career so far. The 25-year-old boxer from Haryana was the defending champion before he lost to old nemesis, Uzbekistan’s reigning world and Olympics champion Shakhobidin Zoirov in the final in Dubai. The result read 3-2 in favour of the Uzbek and the Indian team’s protest, seeking a review of the bout’s second round, was rejected by the jury. “This is by far the best performance by me in the 52kg category. I should have won and I was angry when I did not,” Panghal, the reigning Asian Games champion, said. “I had given it my all and felt I deserved to win but it’s okay, it can happen. It was still way better than the last time I lost to him. The scoreline has narrowed down to 2-3, it was 0-5 earlier,” he told, referring to the World Championships final loss to Zoirov in 2019. “The contingent protested against the decision, we could have been a bit more forceful but it’s okay.” PTI