Clinching onto his silver medal stand for quite some time now, but slightly missing on the Gold, Ashish Kumar have been working hard on his skills. His hard work to achieve the desired Gold finally paid off, when he ceased the solo Gold for India in Thailand Open 2019.
In April, Ashish first made headlines when he participated in the Asian Championships and came back home with a Silver. His silver haul continued in India Open as well. But the missing gold was sill haunting him, raising a lot of self-doubt within himself. However, when Thailand Open commenced, Ashish Kumar steeped into the ring with a fresh aggression to counter his opponents and only excelling forward, with the lone goal of winning his first Gold.
Hailing silver medals for twice in a row, his confidence was slightly wavered, but the dominance and aggression put forth on the ring by Kumar was surely admirable. His first important bout of this season aimed towards a lone Gold medal was against none other than, Aphisit Khankhokkrue, the Thai boxer who he had previously battled with in India Open semi-finals. But his improved set of skills guided him through the game, as he dominated the game with 5-0 scorelines to reach the final initially.
In the final while facing Korea’s Kim Jinjae, his impeccable punches and quick yet aggressive refluxes baffled the Korean, eventually earning his way for the lone Gold he has always dreamt of. India had a rich medal haul at the Thailand Open tournament, clinching a total of 8 medals, which includes the lone Gold contribution by Ashish Kumar.
