Deepak Kumar upsets Olympic boxing champ, assured of silver

NEW DELHI: Deepak Kumar has forever lived under the shadow of world championship silver medallist Amit Panghal, who has dominated the flyweight division for the last couple of years and has also sealed his berth for the Tokyo Olympics. Deepak, however, punched big on Friday with a sensational upset of reigning world and Olympic champion Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov 4-1 in the men’s 52kg semi-final bout at the 72nd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

With Panghal along with other Indian Olympic qualifiers deciding to take part in the Boxam International Tournament in Spain from next month, 23-year-old Deepak sensed his opportunity to strike big. His performance showed the depth of Indian boxing. “I came here with the aim of winning gold and I hope I can do it for my country,” said Deepak.

The boxer from Hisar kept the tall and attacking Zoirov under pressure with a flurry of punches from the start. “I was advised to keep it close and I was able to execute the plans. I kept the punches going and didn’t give him any space,” said Deepak, who will meet Daniel Asenov of Bulgaria in the final of one of the world’s prestigious tournaments on Saturday. In the 2019 Worlds final it was Zoirov who defeated Panghal in the final after an intense fight.

It has been a life of struggle for Deepak who has endured financial issues—even worked as a newspaper vendor for a brief period—and a careerthreatening injury on his right hand. His coach Rajesh Sheoran stood by him in the difficult phase and brought him back to ring in 2011. The same year he fractured his right hand and lost almost two years before making a comeback after surgery.

A job with the Madras Engineering Group, Bangalore in 2016 brought respite and since then he has only focused on boxing as he got selected by the Army Sports Institute, Pune.