The final bell image said it all: Amit Panghal, silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships and Asian Games gold medalist and top seed in Tokyo, sank into his corner, head down, his stomach warmed as he Sucked in oxygen, he'd been forced to run from corner to corner by Colombia's Ubergen MartÃnez in the final minute of a round he knew he had to win to stay at the Olympics.
It was a disappointing end to the match, but perhaps not a surprise. Just a few months ago, at the Indian team's training camp in Assisi, Panghal had four clashes with silver medalist Martinez in Rio - and it was a sign that today's match will not be easy.
What went wrong for India's most successful boxer in the last Olympic cycle? Here are some reasons.
This was not Panghal's first match against a Colombian boxer. Just a few months ago, Panghal had a tussle with Martinez four times in the Indian team's training camp in Assisi. According to the coaches present there, the first match itself was bad. "Amit completely dominated the first time. The Colombian had really heavy punches and pitched him in the first minute (he shook him within the first minute). Nobody goes hundred percent in a sparring session So it was a bit surprising that the Colombian was so far ahead," says a witness in that session. In fact, by the time the Indian team saw its draw in Tokyo, some seemed disappointed that Panghal, despite being the top seed, had put Martinez right in front.
While that fighting season may have dealt some blow to Panghal's confidence, his coaches would have expected a better result in Tokyo. The session in Assisi was on an 18-foot side ring (training rings are often smaller to force boxers to deal with the pressure) as opposed to the 20-foot side square used in the Olympics. Panghal was, in theory, a chance to use his superior speed and movement to ward off the Colombians. And if there was a fear that he would not be able to handle the Colombian pace, he would only have to remember how he defeated a world-class boxer like Shakobdin Zoirov just a few months ago in the final of the Asian Championships.
In that fight, he had learned to stay in the pocket, relying on his superior movement to avoid punches to his head, and using his accuracy to hit the counter. Panghal did so in the first round. The Colombian went ahead and Panghal slipped and weaved and landed his own blows. In the 50th second of the first round, there was a lead straight left, telling special. But when Panghal hit flashy punches early on, the Colombian was putting money in the bank for later.
In a flurry after Panghal's left fist flicks his head backwards, Martinez punches him in a corner and rips into several unanswered punches on his body, digging into a left hook to Amit's right, abdomen - of his liver. Dig right up. Martinez will follow this strategy in the first round itself.
He used to cling to her even when tagged by Panghal. Indian team coach D.S. "It's very exhausting to face the kind of opponent who runs through every punch you throw," says Yadav. You lose faith in your jab because you can see that it doesn't matter to him." In fact you can hear coach Kutappa shouting at Panghal's corner in the last minute of the first round, "Mar ke side jaa. (Hit and move to side)", but instead of the Indian making the opening and then jab first to build on his punches, was hoping to get lucky with just a single punch and get away.
While Panghal's performance against Zoirov was being highly expected, the Colombian took his pressure to another level. Panghal was working on his stamina for the past one year. “He probably has the most stamina in the camp,” says Yadav. It wasn't a lack of conditioning that hurt him in the last two rounds." "Someone like Zoirov mostly targets your face. He'll put a lot of pressure on but then he'll be slow to get his energy back. Colombians give you that. He won't give you a chance to breathe. You keep waiting for him to take a break but he doesn't so you're on the back-foot defending the entire competition. He's always going to keep you out of the water. Pulling down. It is very exhausting mentally,” says Yadav.
But while he struggled mentally, it was the very real danger of being touched from inside that constantly left Panghal behind. "It's easy to say that you should always keep moving until you get into the solar plexus. At that point, when you're injured, it's almost impossible to keep fighting," says Yadav.