There is nothing wrong with the 'punch' of the T72 gun.
The early ammunition was no better than NATO ammunition from the 105mm, and growth has been limited by Russian ability to build long monobloc rounds, and the limitation on projectile length enforced by the two part ammunition and the autoloader.
If it was loaded with single piece rounds with the projectile buried within the casing (as on the Rheinmetall gun) then it would probably outperform the L44 version with ease.
With the more recent Russian and other 'modern' rounds, and with the limitation on projectile length eased with the later autoloader on the most recent designs it is still highly competitive. You cannot compare the results of the old tube and early steel projectiles with how the modernised system would perform.
You now have improved suspension, stabilisation, a full ballistic computer, reduced dispersion and higher lethality and much higher penetration.
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