Two-time Olympian Amit Panghal can still picture the moment. His elder brother Ajay, 18, tears in his eyes, telling him — Amit, tujhe ek world class boxer banna hai. Then putting down his gloves for good. Their family couldn’t keep two boxing careers alive. Gloves had to be borrowed just to practice, and a proper diet was a luxury they couldn’t afford. So Ajay joined the Army as a Havaldar, posted in Patiala, and every rupee he earned went straight to Amit. “He told me — bas khel pe dhyan de, baaki sab main dekhunga,” Amit recalls.
Ajay’s reasoning was simple and devastating in equal measure: “If not me, then my brother. One of us had to live this dream, and for that I had to start earning.”
Ask Amit how it all started and he’ll tell you it was never even his idea. “I was still this lanky kid, whom his brother almost dragged into the sport because he needed company. My elder brother Ajay had taken up boxing and one fine morning he decided he would introduce me to the game as well.” And the brother who dragged him in never really left. “My elder brother Ajay deserves a lot of credit. He’s actually the best coach for me. He always derives strategies for me. And I make sure I speak to him before every match.”
Today Amit is a two-time Olympian, a former World No. 1 and India’s first male boxer to win a World Championship silver. As for Ajay’s verdict on the life he gave up? Short, soldierly, straight to the point — “My sacrifice has paid rich dividends. And, also the goal was to bring pride for the country. We are both doing it in our own way.”
Amit hasn’t forgotten who made it possible. Every reward he wins today goes directly into Ajay’s account. “Every medal I win is ours not just mine. I cannot repay what he gave me.”
