Will not get satisfied unless I clinch gold at Olympics: Boxer Amit Panghal

On Saturday, Panghal settled for a silver medal in the World Boxing Championships as he lost the final match to Uzbekistan`s Shakhobidin Zoirov.

Image Credits: IANS

Amit Panghal, who became the first Indian boxer to win a silver medal in the World Boxing Championships held in Ekaterinburg, Russia, on Monday said this feat is "very less" and he will work hard to reach the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to bag a gold.

"This is very less for me unless I get an Olympics gold medal. I`m working hard to do something big in the Olympics for which I will be remembered for long. My win in the world championships is still good for the country as this time in boxing we got better results," Panghal told ANI.

"Every athletes` dream is to bag an Olympic medal for the country so I will work hard to win a gold medal in the Olympics," he added.

On Saturday, Panghal settled for a silver medal in the championships as he lost the final match to Uzbekistan`s Shakhobidin Zoirov. Zoirov defeated Pangal in the summit clash 5-0 in the 52-kg weight category. Panghal on Friday had become the first Indian boxer to enter the finals of the championships.

"This is the best Indian contingent sent to the competition and we performed well. We will get more than one medal in the Olympics and will try to upgrade the colour of the medals," Panghal said.

"As best players of the world come to participate in the championships, so I prepared according to the opponent. I discussed with the coach and with my brother before the bouts. I watched videos of my opponents and planed strategies accordingly," he added.

On Friday, Manish Kaushik had to settle for a bronze medal as he lost 0-5 in the semi-final clash against reigning world champion Andy Cruz Gomez of Cuba. With this, Kaushik joined Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015) and Gaurav Bidhuri (2017), to win the World Championships bronze medals for India.

"Obviously, we would have the chances of securing Olympic berth in our respective weight category, if the World Championships would have been organised in India. But nevertheless we got the chance to play world boxers and got to know their techniques," Panghal said.

"I was happy after my win and want to thank everyone for the immense love and support. We got the sixth rank in the competition among 70 plus countries and we are improving day by day before the Olympics," he added.