‘I wanted to replicate him’: Ankush Panghal on following Amit’s 2018 gold feat

Indian boxer Ankush Panghal won the 80kg Asian Games gold, emulating his ‘elder brother’ Amit Panghal’s 2018 feat. Ankush defeated South Korea’s Kim Minseong 4-0 and credited Amit, along with his training and fellow gold medallists, for inspiring his triumph

Nishio: Ankush Panghal called Olympian and former Asian Games gold medallist Amit Panghal his elder brother, saying he wanted to replicate Amit’s 2018 Asian Games gold medal with a yellow metal of his own at the 2026 Games.

Ankush defeated South Korea’s Kim Minseong 4-0 in the 80kg gold medal bout with a dominant performance in the final to become the first Indian men’s boxer to win gold since Amit clinched one at the 2018 Jakarta Games.

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“Yes, he (Amit) is my elder brother. I used to talk to him. I still talk to him. In 2018, Amit Panghal won the gold; this time I wanted to replicate him. He is like my real brother,” Ankush said after his gold medal win.

Ankush came into the final after beating reigning world champion Fazliddin Erkinboev 4-1 in the semifinal. Ankush’s final opponent, Kim, had lost to Erkinboev in the semifinal of the Asian Championships earlier this year, where the Korean bagged a bronze.

Despite having beaten the world champion, Ankush said he wasn’t overconfident coming into the final.

“No, I wasn’t overconfident. But I was confident that I would win the final. I was never overconfident that I would beat everyone. I just wanted to do my best,” he said.

He stated that he also drew energy from the gold medal wins of Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and Parveen Hooda (65kg) in their respective categories earlier in the day.

“Yes, I felt that the country has two gold medals and now I have to bring in the third,” he said.

Ankush also won a gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The 21-year-old called this year the best of his career so far, saying he now has two major gold medals.

“This is the best year I have seen in the last 10 years. I used to get silver or bronze medals, but this time I have two golds. I am feeling good.

“My training was going well. I trained well in the camp. My practice is getting better,” he added.

Ankush started as a kabaddi player, as his father also used to play kabaddi, but later switched to boxing in his early days.

“When I was in school, I used to play kabaddi for 2-3 years. I wanted to switch to an individual event. I started boxing 10 years ago. In 2018, I got a gold medal at the school national. After that, I put more focus on boxing,” he said.