CHENNAI: They looked a little rusty, but in the end India men’s team finished with three gold and one silver at the Alexis Vastine Memorial international boxing tournament in Nantes, France, on Friday. World No 1 boxer Amit Panghal cut through the defences of the Abraham Rene Perez of the US with ease to secure a comfortable gold in the final of the 52kg.
This is the first tournament for India men’s team after the Covid-19 pandemic. The boxers went to France after shifting their training base to Assisi in Italy mid-October. In 75kg, Ashish Kumar managed to eke out a victory against Ramin Musah of England in a tight final bout for country’s second gold. Heavyweight (91 kg) Sanjeet also impressed to clinch gold, beating Soheb Bouafia of the host country in the final.
However, in the 57kg weight category, Kavinder Singh Bisht lost to host’s Samuel Kistohurry. Earlier on Thursday, Shiva Thapa lost to local favourite Lounes Hamraoui. The four-time Asian champ who was the last to join the national camp in Patiala looked rusty.
Though there were boxers from 10 countries, the entries were thin in some weight categories. But for all the team managements, getting match practice is a priority in days of pandemic when competitions are rare. The team will be flying back to Italy, where they will train for the next few weeks.