India’s Amit Phangal created history today by beating the Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan by split decision in men’s light fly weight boxing to give 14th gold medal to India at 18th Asian Games. The judges gave the verdict in the favour of Indian boxer 3-2.
This was the third face-off between the two boxers and Amit finally managed to register his first win against the world number 1 after losing in world championships quarterfinals and Asian championships semi-final.
Hasanboy was the clear favourite coming into the match being a world and Olympic champion but the 22-year-old from Haryana’s tactical play proved decisive on the day.
1st round
Amit started the bout with some fast paced boxing on a cautious note. He maintained the distance and came up with the combination of right and left to dismantle the Olympic champion. Dusmatov tried to pull some back by landing hooks on Amit but the Indian was formidably the winner of first round battle.
2nd round
Amit maintained his distance but Dusmatov came up with a plan. He landed some punches on Amit and emerged as the clear winner of the second round by technical margins.
3rd round
It was even-stevens after the second round with all to play for in the last round. Amit continued to sway away from the opposition and landed some punches to get the attention of the judges. Dusmatov tried the best to land some combination punches but the speed of Phangal was like a “tracer bullet”, too hard for the Uzbek boxer to control. The Indian boxer’s body language was positive through the course of the bout and this was another reason why judges handed the result in his favour.
His tears standing tall at the podium with the national anthem in background and rising tricolour said it all. Defeating the World number 1 and Olympic champion is a very big deal. Isn’t ?
Stat alert
Padam Bahadur Mall had won the first gold medal for India in men’s boxing way back in 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. Now 56 years later at the same venue, Amit had made the country proud.
Indian boxers at 18th Asian Games
This was the second medal in boxing for India. Earlier, Vikas Krishan had to settle for a bronze after he was declared unfit to contest in the semi-final due to a cut in the eye.
