World Boxing Championships: Amit Panghal takes on Shakhobidin Zoirov in the final today
Panghal became the first Indian to enter the finals when he prevailed 3-2 against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the last-four stage.
Published : Sep 20, 2019 22:51 IST
Asian champion Amit Panghal (52kg) will take on Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning Olympic champion in the final of the World Men’s Boxing Championship on Saturday. Zoirov defeated Frenchman Billal Bennama in his semifinal showdown.
Earlier, Panghal became the first Indian to enter the finals when he prevailed 3-2 against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the last-four stage. His trademark pace and ability to adapt coming in handy, Panghal outmaneuvered the taller Kazakh, who came into the semis after upstaging reigning European gold-medallist Artur Hovhannisyan of Armenia in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games silver-winner Manish Kaushik, competing in his debut world championship, lost 0-5 to top-seeded Cuban Andy Gomez Cruz, a gold-medallist from the previous edition besides being the reigning Pan-American Games champion.
The past Indian medal-winners at the world meet are Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015) and Gaurav Bidhuri (2017).