Weight, diet, Paris Olympics: Inside the training camp of India's boxing hopes Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev

Boxing Duo are the only two male boxers who will represent India at Paris Olympics.

India’s boxing hopes for Paris Olympics 2024 rest on the shoulders of two talented pugilists: Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev. These athletes will be the sole male representatives for the nation in the sport at the upcoming Games.

Amit Panghal, 28, has secured his second consecutive Olympic berth in the men’s 51 kg category. The southpaw from Haryana clinched his spot by reaching the semifinals of the World Boxing Olympic Qualifier 2. Panghal, reflecting on his performance in Tokyo, expressed his determination to learn from past mistakes and improve his showing in the Paris Olympics.

He also spoke positively about his ongoing training with coach Fernandez, praising the coach’s methods and their impact on his preparation.

Nishant Dev, 23, will make his Olympic debut in the men’s 71 kg category. Hailing from Karnal, Haryana, Dev is considered one of India’s promising prospects for an Olympic medal. The young boxer recently opened up about the mental challenges he faced following a loss at the World Qualifier 1 in Italy, revealing the impact on his mental health in the days following the decision.

Both athletes bring unique experiences and perspectives to their Olympic journey, with Panghal looking to improve on his previous Olympic performance and Dev aiming to make a strong first impression on the global stage.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

Q: Nishant, after your controversial loss in World Qualifier 1, how did you bounce back to secure the Olympic quota in Thailand a month later?

Nishant Dev: I lost to the USA boxer in a close fight. My first round was slow, and the decision didn’t go in my favour. I put a lot of effort into the second and the third round. The second round went in my favour. The third round went to the US boxer in a 3-2 decision. I was confident that I won the third round, but the decision didn’t come in my favour. At the ring, I didn’t realize anything.

When I went to the changing room, I succumbed to a lot of pressure realising what I lost. I was very unhappy losing the close fight and the Olympic Quota. I was in trouble for two to three days and it was disturbing my mind. But I didn’t have so much time because I had to prepare for Bangkok. I took my loss as motivation and trained for 1.5 months, did well in Thailand and won the quota.

Q: Men’s boxers didn’t qualify for so long and had to wait for the Bangkok event to qualify. Were you experiencing pressure? How was your training going on?

Amit Panghal: There was no pressure as such. So many of our boxers lost in close bouts. We could have easily won two to three more quotas. A few decisions could have gone our way, but it went to opponent’s way. There is nothing bad in that. We gave our best and our training was going well. The team that went abroad for training also had good sparring partners.

Nishant Dev: In the first Olympic qualifier 1, we lost to the boxers who qualified for the Olympics and every bout was close. It could have gone in our favour. We can’t take it negatively. We have to take the positive out of it and do well in the next tournament. Even in Thailand, there were some bouts which we thought we won but the decision didn’t come in our favour. We can’t blame anyone here neither judge nor referee. our training was also going well.

Q: Amit you will be playing your second Olympics so what are your learnings from your first experience? Which aspect will you focus more on?

Amit Panghal: From my past mistakes, I am determined to learn and improve. Reflecting on my previous Olympic experience, I recognize the need to enhance my endurance. Additionally, I will focus on refining my combination punches. Currently, I am executing 1-2 punch combinations, but my goal is to advance to 3-4 punch combinations.

Q: Nishant, given your strong performances at the World Championships and this being your first Olympics, what’s your plan for Paris 2024 and which areas will you focus on in your preparation?

Nishant Dev: I need to improve my preparation, especially since there’s not much time left. I plan to address my shortcomings from the first and second world qualifiers. I often lose weight quickly, which reduces my endurance and causes fatigue.

To combat this, I will work on my diet to prevent the fatigue and tiredness that set in during the third round. With proper nutrition, I aim to perform strongly in the third round and win the match. My natural weight is 75kg, but it drops to 71kg during competitions.

Also Read: A look at Nishant Dev’s qualification for Paris Olympics 2024

Q: Are you feeling any pressure since this is your first Olympics? How are you tackling it?

Nishant Dev: Currently, I am not feeling any pressure. Even during the competition, I remained confident because my training was solid. Good training eliminates pressure, so I was sure I would qualify. I played all my bouts exceptionally well.

Q: Amit, you were world no. #1 in Tokyo and now at Paris Olympics, you are not. Will you feel more relaxed at this Olympics?

Amit Panghal: Yes, I will feel relaxed because I have a lot of experience of playing in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games. I know the game base of my opponent and how to tackle them.

Also Read: A look at Amit Panghal’s qualification for Paris Olympics 2024

Q: Everyone is going abroad for training. Why did you choose to train in India?

Amit Panghal: I have a diet problem when I’m outside India. I don’t get enough food to eat, and my weight category is already low. In the last Olympics, my main issues were having to train with a qualifier boxer and the lack of proper food. That’s why I chose to train in India.

Here, food is readily available, and I have all the necessary sparring partners. Training in India is much better than abroad because we have excellent coaches and can utilize all these facilities to train well.

Q: Will you play any tournaments right now or will continue doing training?

Amit Panghal: Since less time is left for the Olympics we can’t take any risk of playing in tournaments. We are focusing on training and playing with sparing with our partners. I will try for high-altitude training.

Q: Men’s boxing has been Inconsistent in the past. We are not getting the results as expected. So, is this a motivation or pressure for you guys?

Amit Panghal: There will be no pressure for us because we know about our opponents. We are making our training schedule for that. The performance of our male boxers is good. There is no downfall in their performance. In the tournaments, the boxers to whom we lost were good (Olympic medalists, world champion medalists). Our boxers are doing good practice and they have lost in a close fight.

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