Amit Panghal: Being World No. 1 gives me more confidence

The 24-year old boxer is fully motivated to maintain his position at the top.

India’s ace boxer Amit Panghal is now the World No. 1 in the men’s 52 kg category and believes that it will boost his confidence in upcoming tournaments.

The Amateur Indian Boxing Association (AIBA) recently released the new rankings and it came as a blessing for Amit Panghal, who has already qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, after a remarkable performance at the Asian Boxing Olympic Qualifiers in March earlier this year.

"I am very happy. It’s a satisfying feeling. This surely gives me more confidence that I go out and fight it out to maintain my level and hold on to the World No.1 tag once the season begins," Amit Panghal said to the Olympic Channel.

"Things will be different. I have no doubts about it. Everyone will want to beat the World No. 1, so I don’t think I will have any easy bouts once the season resumes. But, that also gives me the opportunity to prepare hard and be ready for the competition when it comes. It won't be an easy task to hold on to the ranking."

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has halted or forced the organizers to postpone almost every sporting event in the world including the Tokyo Olympics, which will now take place in 2021. However, it hasn’t affected the training of Amit Panghal, who is following his daily routine to bring an Olympic gold medal to India. He is currently training with his coach Anil Dhankar.

Amit Panghal remarked, "I don’t think my training has been hampered much. I have my coach here and we have been spending hours together working on my weakness. I think my fitness level has also gone up a notch too. The break gave me enough time to work on my game and improve on the areas that I lacked. I think once the (national) camp resumes, I will be in good shape to take it forward from here."

Indian women’s boxers have also gained some positions in the world rankings. World Championship silver medalist Manju Rani secured the second spot in the 48kg category, while six-time world champion MC Mary Kom reached the third position in the 51kg category.