Xtra Time Web Desk: In what comes as a huge morale boost before Tokyo Games, boxer Amit Panghal has been ranked as World No. 1 in the men’s flyweight (52kg) category by the IOC Boxing Task Force.
The reigning Asian Games champion and World Championships silver-medallist is the only Indian from the nine Tokyo-bound men and women pugilists to have received the top billing. This will certainly spur Panghal to Olympic glory as the No. 1 ranking has come only 27 days ahead of the start of the boxing competitions (July 24-August 8) in Tokyo.
The 25-year-old boxer from Rohtak’s closest rival Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, has been ranked fifth in the world. Panghal has not been able to beat Zoirov in three of his previous meetings. Last time Panghal met the Uzbek, he lost the controversial final of the Asian boxing championships in Dubai.
The other three boxers in top-five of the 52kg category include France’s Billal Bennama (World No. 2), Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi (No. 3) and China’s Hu Jianguan (No. 4). Among them, Panghal has defeated Bennama and Jianguan once each. while Against Flissi, Panghal has never competed before.
The No. 1 ranking will definitely help Panghal in securing a favorable draw at the Olympics, where he’s unlikely to face any strong challenge before the quarterfinal bout. The top-eight seeds in Tokyo wouldn’t meet before the quarters, leaving Panghal to concentrate on his two matches in the Round of 32 and 16. In the Round of 64, he’s likely to be accorded a bye based on his top billing.