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Commonwealth Games gold medalist Amit Panghal and national champion Sachin put in scintillating efforts to secure gold medals at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday, February 11.
Amit (51kg) proved heavy on his Kazakh opponent, Sanzhar Tashkenbay, right from the word go. The former's accuracy and speed in attacking helped him remain on target with his trademark jab and left hook. Amit dominated the bout at all times, improving with time. The Indian pugilist kept his foot on the accelerator even in the final round.
Tashkenbay failed to find a way out as Amit firmly stood his ground. Amit bagged his fourth successive unanimous decision win of the tournament, pulling off a stunning 5-0 win to claim the gold medal.
Meanwhile, it wasn't as easy a final for Sachin (57kg), who took some time to settle in against Shakhzod Muzafarov from Uzbekistan. The first round saw an intense battle as both boxers displayed equal dominance. However, Sachin managed to win the round 3-2.
The Haryana-based boxer drew confidence, making use of his height while timing some perfect punches in the next two rounds, emerging victorious by a 5-0 margin to win the gold medal at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Nikhat, Arundhati, Barun, and Rajat claim silver, while Akash and Naveen settle for bronze medals at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament
Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen failed to clinch her third Strandja Memorial gold medal as she went down 2-3 against Sabina Bobokulova. The Indian did not start well as Sabina was aggressive right from the beginning. Nikhat conceded the first round 1-4.
Sabina displayed solid defensive technique with quick head movements as Nikhat failed to connect her punches, going down 2-3 in the second round. While Nikhat did bounce back in the third round with a 5-0 win, it wasn't going to be enough to win her the final. She eventually settled for silver at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Arundhati Choudhary (66kg) almost pulled off a sensational win over China's Yang Liu. Both boxers were hesitant at the start, playing the waiting game. Arundhati lost the opening round 3-2. However, Asian Games gold medalist Yang made use of her experience, delivering calculated moves. She scored points at regular intervals, winning the second and the third rounds with similar scorelines of 4-1.
Barun Singh Shagolshem (48kg) also suffered a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Kyrgyzstan's Khodzhiev Anvarzhan in the final. The bout began on an explosive note as both boxers tried to gain early points. With more aggressive intent, Khodzhiev took the lead, winning the first round 4-1. Moreover, he went on to win the second round 5-0, forcing a countdown against Barun.
Barun put up an exceptional fight in the third round, winning 3-2. However, the final verdict did not go in his favor.
Rajat was India's last pugilist in action at the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament, as he took on Kazakhstan's Bekbauov Dulat. The bout was evenly poised and it looked like anybody's game throughout. Both boxers delivered several blows time and again. However, the second and third rounds saw Dulat pick up points regularly, which eventually helped him win the match 3-2.
The Strandja Memorial Tournament is one of Europe's oldest international sports competitions. The tournament also witnessed over 300 boxers participate from 30 countries.
