Commonwealth Games 2022 | Boxers Amit Panghal, Nitu strike gold
The Hindu
Panghal bettered his silver from the last edition while Nitu upstaged 2019 world championship bronze medalist
Indian boxers Nitu Ghanghas won the women's 48kg Commonwealth Games title before Amit Panghal (men's 51kg) joined her on the top of the podium, in Birmingham on August 7, 2022.
Panghal bettered his silver from the last edition as he out-punched European Championship silver medallist England's Kiaran MacDonald by a 5-0 verdict in the men's flyweight.
Nitu, on the other hand, upstaged 2019 world championships bronze medallist Demie-Jade Resztan of England by a 5-0 unanimous verdict.
Despite the height disadvantage, Asian Games gold medallist Panghal was the far better pugilist among the two.
But MacDonald upped the ante in the final round despite managing a nasty cut.
The first Indian boxer to take the ring, the 21-year-old Nitu, competing in her first CWG, looked completely in control throughout the nine minutes, giving the home boxer no chance.
The Southpaw continued to dazzle in the ring as she threw sharp, accurate combination of punches and controlled the pace of the contest.
Sumit Nagal attained the 77th place in ATP rankings. As per the established criteria, the top 56 players, both in men’s and women’s rankings, will attain automatic qualification for the Olympics but no more than four per country can make the cut for the Games, a rule which allows lower ranked players to sneak into the draw.