75th Strandja Memorial Tournament: Amit Panghal, Sachin clinch gold as India finish with 8 medals

Sofia: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal and National Champion Sachin delivered stellar performances to clinch gold medals at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday.

Amit Panghal (51kg) pulled off a stunning 5-0 win over reigning world champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay, Sachin (57kg) took some time to settle in against Uzbekistan’s Shakhzod Muzafarov while two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen had to settle for silver medal as she lost to former Junior Asian champion Sabina Bobokulova of Uzbekistan.

Much like his previous performances in the tournament, Amit Panghal dominated his opponent with pinpoint precision and speed in his attack. The national champion Amit was on target on most occasions with his trademark jab & left hook and didn't let loose the grip of the bout even for a second.

As the bout progressed, the seasoned Indian pugilist became more and more dominant and stayed in attacking mode even in the third round. Sazakh kept looking for a way out during the whole bout but Amit stood his ground, securing his fourth consecutive unanimous decision win of the tournament to clinch the gold medal.

Contrary to the first match, Sachin (57kg) took some time to settle in against Uzbekistan’s Shakhzod Muzafarov. Both the boxers were equally dominant in the first round though Sachin managed to win it by a slight 3-2 advantage.

The boxer from Haryana grew in confidence as the bout progressed and used his height advantage while timing his punches to perfection in the second and third rounds to emerge victorious by a 5-0 margin.

Meanwhile, the reigning World Champion Nikhat Zareen missed her third Strandja gold medal after going down 2-3 in a closely fought final against Uzbekistan’s Sabina Bobokulova. Nikhat did not have the best of starts as her Uzbeki counterpart went aggressive from the word go.

Arundhati Choudhary (66kg) nearly pulled off a historic win against China’s Yang Liu. The final went down to the wire with the reigning world champion Yang winning the bout 4-1. Both the boxers were hesitant at the start and did not engage in attack as they waited for each other's move. Arundhati took full advantage of Liu’s lacklustre approach and pocketed the first round 3-2.

Barun Singh Shagolshem (48kg) lost 0-4 to Khodzhiev Anvarzhan of Kyrgyzstan in the final. IANS

Also Read: 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament: Nikhat Zareen, Amit Panghal shine as six Indian boxers storm into finals

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