"Another medal hope disappoints": Twitter fuming over World no. 1 Amit Panghal's early Olympic exit

India's Amit Panghal goes crashing out in the Round of 16 [Images Credits: Amit Panghal/Instagram, AFP]

Disappointment glared on the faces of all Indians after Amit Panghal crashed out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the Round of 16. The Indian boxer looked a shadow of himself as he looked exhausted after the first round.

His defeat came against Rio Olympic silver medalist Rivez Martinez, who was at his attacking best in the bout. After winning the first round, it looked like Panghal would manage to get the better of his Colombian opponent in the match. However, that was not to be the case. Here's what happened during the Round of 16 bout.

Huge upset as top seed and big favourite Amit Panghal is out of #Tokyo2020 💔

He was beaten by Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez 4-1 in the Round of 16 🥊#Olympics #IND #TeamIndia #Boxing pic.twitter.com/XdQFR7Faih
— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) July 31, 2021

Panghal crashes out in the Round of 16

Amit Panghal came into the Olympics as the World No. 1. He looked in great form and was slated to be one of the top medal prospects at the 2021 Olympics. However, Panghal was making his Olympic debut and the pressure seemed to get the better of him.

Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule

The first bout was comfortably won by Panghal, as he was successful in impressing 4 judges. But things didn't look the same for Panghal in the second as he was not given any time to react to the big punches landed by Martinez. The World No.1 looked tired and couldn't make any impact in the second half.

Hopes of a comeback from Panghal was put to rest after yet another terrific round of boxing from Martinez. The Colombian looked immensely confident as he was successful in tiring Panghal and landed some big punches to take a 4-1 win in the bout.

Panghal's exit comes as a big disappointment to him and the fans. However, the World No. 1 is only 25 years old and has a lot of boxing left to do in his career. Panghal should not doubt his potential and the Indians can be confident that he will come back strongly the next time he gets in the ring.

Twitter reacts to Panghal's disappointing exit in the Round of 16

As expected, Twitter was sprayed with a fleet of tweets about Panghal's surprise exit. Many fans took to the social media platform to express their disappointment at Amit Panghal's early exit. A few were supportive of him and backed him to come back strongly later. Here is how they reacted:

It’s all right brother @Boxerpanghal some days are good some days are not it’s game you are a champion 👊🏽 and we always proud of you 👏🏽🇮🇳
— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) July 31, 2021

I want my personal coach with me or I am not travelling to Tokyo. Meanwhile, tough draw tha yaar. #Boxing
— Pratyush Raj (@pratyush93_raj) July 31, 2021

This has been poor from Amit. Was outboxed in second and third rounds and just felt wrong to see him back away. Call me old school but @Akhilkumarboxer and @boxervijender never backed away from a fight. World No. 1 out in the Round of 16
— Digvijay Singh Deo (@DiggySinghDeo) July 31, 2021

Very sad to see Amit Panghal go out the way he did - looked like there was just no intent of round one - what’s the point of coming into the Olympics as top seed and then not even trying to throw a punch for two rounds? Surely was either harboring an injury or had no game plan
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) July 31, 2021

Big upset, number 1 seed Amit Panghal from #TeamIndia lost in round of 16 in #Boxing at #Tokyo2020 - not an ideal start for India.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 31, 2021

#Boxing

Just saw that number one seed, India's Amit Panghal goes down by 4-1 !!

I still can't believe. #Olympics
#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/dUN4Kk82fi
— Danny (@Ddnyana) July 31, 2021

Wasn't expecting Amit Panghal to go out in the Round of 16 :/

Yuberjen Martinez, an Olympic silver medalist for a reason though
— Aniket Mishra (@aniketmishra299) July 31, 2021

Wow. Top seed Amit Panghal has been knocked out in the first round. That's a big one. Saturday morning turning out to be a major jolt after the good vibes of the last two day.#Tokyo2020
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) July 31, 2021

It just wasn't his day!
But this unfortunate loss won't make Amit Panghal any less a champion.

We believe in you @boxerpanghal and we will continue to be inspired by you.
Keep punching! Your bout is only beginning. The ring will see a lot more rounds from you. #GarvHai https://t.co/JNE27iwe8N
— Pranav Adani (@PranavAdani) July 31, 2021

Amit Panghal beaten fair and square by Rio games silver medalist Martinez. #Olympics
— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) July 31, 2021

Amit Panghal was never in the game. :(
— Yojana Phadnis (@YojPhadnis) July 31, 2021

Heartbreak folks 💔
India's big medal hope & top seed Amit Panghal eliminated in 2nd round (52kg); loses to Rio Olympic Silver medalist 1:4.
Amit had received 1st round Bye. #Tokyo2020 #Tokyo2020withIndia_AllSports #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/bZ7d5IW2Re
— #priyamalik (@FmanoharOfficeo) July 31, 2021

Amit Panghal, one of the favourites to win a medal, out in R16.

In last two rounds, he was running and running 🏃🏃🏃#Boxing
— Bhart singh (@Bhartsi94) July 31, 2021

#Boxing

That really hurt. Amit Panghal losing in Round of 16 is tough to take. #Tokyo2020
— Yashodhan Nakhare (@yashnakhare) July 31, 2021

Amit Panghal's older brother Ajay was a boxer himself but sacrificed his career by taking up a job so that Amit could pursue his dreams without worries. #Olympics #Boxing
— Nevin (@nevinthomas) July 31, 2021

Deserving win for Martinez. Was absolutely relentless in last 2 rounds, missed alot but landed as well. Amit Panghal just kept backing away, dodging but hardly thrown any hand. This is beyond surprising, as if he went there just to duck punches, not to throw himself! #Tokyo2020
— Sayan (@Tweets_by_Sayan) July 31, 2021

Also Read: Why Amit Panghal failed to win his Olympics 2021 bout against Yurberjen Herney Martinez