‘Dirty Politics’ – Amit Panghal slams BFI and SAI; Threatens to pull out of national camp

‘Dirty Politics’ – Amit Panghal slams BFI and SAI; Threatens to pull out of national camp

Amit Panghal

Amit Panghal

Boxer and World Championships silver-medalist Amit Panghal slammed the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) for not providing him proper coaching, coaches and sparring partners which he claims has hampered his training for the Tokyo Olympics. Further, he threatened to pull out of the national camp if his demands are not met.

Panghal recently won a Gold medal in the Alexis Vastine International Boxing Tournament in Nantes, France. He defeated his American opponent Rene Abraham in what was his first competition following the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The Haryana boxer has already qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and is touted as one among the favorites to win a medal for India.

‘I will not participate in national camp without coach’ – Panghal

Boxing training underway at the national camp

Amit Panghal stated to ETV Bharat that he had requested the BFI and SAI several times to provide him with a coach and sparring partners and yet, didn’t receive any reply.

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“I had written to BFI and SAI but there has been no response yet and submitted my application in December but nobody responded. I have requested them several times and they are not even specifying the reason as to why they are not providing me coach,” Panghal said in a telephonic conversation.

The 25-year-old accused ‘dirty politics’ as the reason for his helpless state. He further said, “It has hampered my training for the Tokyo Olympics. I achieved so much as a sportsperson and they are playing dirty politics with me. It’s a contact game and we need three to four partners. That’s a must.

“How will we do our fitness session if we are not provided with all these facilities? I requested BFI several times and will request them again when I come back to India. I will not participate in the training camp if they don’t provide me a coach,” he said.

Amit Panghal is currently in Italy as a part of a 15-member Indian contingent for a 52-day training camp.

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