Team Herald
sports@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Goa’s very own professional boxer Pralhad Panda successfully defended his Indian Boxing Council (IBC) West Zone featherweight title becoming the first Goan to retain the prestigious belt in the professional circuit.
Another Goan boxer, Kailas Gauns from Chimbel, also secured the second victory of the night for Goa, winning against his opponent Prasad Katnoor.
In the much-awaited title fight, the 29-year-old from Bastora, Panda, outboxed his challenger Amit Kumar (27) from Pune over eight tough rounds, before winning by a unanimous decision from a panel of three judges, in a gripping eight-round contest held at the Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias, Miramar, during Susegado Strike Fight Night 3, which also featured five other competitive bouts with male and female boxers from across the country.
“Defending my title at home was special. I’ve trained here for years and to come back into the ring and win in front of a Goan crowd made it all the more meaningful,” said Panda after his victory, crediting his team and coach for keeping him grounded and focused throughout the build-up.
Twelve professional boxers participated in the third edition of the Fight Night, including local lad Kailas Gauns (30), who faced off against Prasad Katnoor (22) from Virar in Mumbai, in the men's super flyweight category. Both boxers jostled for victory over six rounds, before Kailas was declared the winner by a split decision over his higher ranked opponent.
The official weigh-in ceremony for the event was held at the Fitness Bar, here. All bouts, including Panda’s title clash, took place at Miramar, where Bharatiya Janata Party State President Damodar Naik was the chief guest.
One of the early fixtures of Fight Night 3 was a stunning, but brisk affair involving 22-year-old Maninder Singh from Barnala in Punjab, who took 2:56 minutes in the opening round itself to win by technical knockout against his eight-years-older opponent Bharany Velmurugan (30) from Pondicherry, in the men’s welterweight category.
In the men’s heavyweight bout, Ashish Ahlawat faced off against Taher Khuram (26) from Mumbai. The latter, a boxer of Afghan origin, had a blistering start, knocking down his opponent. However, Ashish held his own despite the early setback, landing some key blows on Taher in the course of the four-round contest. Ashish was eventually declared the winner by a split decision.
In the two bouts featuring women boxers, Amruta Kale (25) from Pune won through a unanimous decision in her six-round slugfest against 19-year-old Saanvi Gandhi from Chennai in the women’s light flyweight category, while Ramandeep Kaur (28) from Bengaluru, took six rounds to be announced a winner through a unanimous decision of the panel of judges, in her battle against teenager Rupika Rani of Abohar in Punjab in the same division. All participating boxers were registered professionals with prior national-level experience and were matched across recognised weight categories.
During the event, Damodar also felicitated Lloyd Fernandes for his achievements in para sports.