Brother’s sacrifice paved Rohtak boy’s path to glory

NEWDELHI:THE foundation of Amit Panghal’s success was laid by his brother, Ajay, who sacrificed his career in boxing to become the family’s breadwinner and ensure his brother could focus. Twelve years back, Ajay, then 13, and Amit, 10, were trainees at a private academy in Maina village on the outskirts of Rohtak.

However, Ajay had to quit boxing a few years later as the family didn’t have enough financial resources. He joined the Army in 2011, letting the 14-year-old Amit continue boxing. The sacrifice began paying dividends last year when Amit won bronze at the Asian Championships. Ajay was on cloud nine after Amit won gold on Saturday. “My sacrifice has paid rich dividends,” he said. “I quit to earn money and joined the army so that I could support my bother.”

Recalling the days of hardship, Ajay says there was no way their father could have shelled out ~4000-5000 for equipment (gloves) every 2-3 months. The best way hence, was to give up so that the younger one could carry on.

“We are small-time farmers and it was extremely difficult for our father to let both kids take up sports. It was a luxury as apart from equipment, we needed good diet too. The family simply couldn’t afford it,” he added.

Amit’s gold once again demonstrates that local, makeshift academies have been laying the foundation across disciplines.

His family is indebted to local coach Anil Dhankar who had set up a boxing academy in the village. “Had there been no academy in the village, we wouldn’t have taken up boxing,” added Amit’s brother.

Former chief coach and Dronacharya Awardee Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu was elated. “Going by his performance, he stands a good chance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” he said. “Since the level of competition in Olympics is tougher, we need to mould him so that he reaches the elite level in the next two years.”

Olympian Akhil Kumar hailed Amit’s efforts. “His performance has been quite steady which augurs wells for his future.”