Panghal loses to Zoirov
NEW DELHI: Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan might consider himself a bit lucky to end up on the winning side against Amit Panghal in the 52kg final of the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai on Monday. Panghal was facing Zoirov for the third time after defeats at the world championships final and Governor’s Cup in Russia recently.
On Monday, Panghal seemed determined to end his losing spree, especially with the Tokyo Olympics a couple of months away. He could not.
But Panghal did enough damage through the three rounds to make a statement against the Uzbek losing 3-2. India protested after the bout but it was not accepted by the jury.
Sanjeet Kumar (91kg) defeated five-time Asian Championships medallist and Rio Olympic silver medallist Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan 4-1 in the final. Shiva Thapa, however, lost to Baatarsukh Chinzorig of Mongolia 2-3 in the 64kg final.