India will send its largest ever contingent of five boxers to the Beijing Olympics but unlike the previous years, where the concentration was just on putting up a decent show.
From also-rans, the Indian pugilists are now developing into decent hopefuls for the Olympics
MUMBAI: India will send its largest ever contingent of five boxers to the Beijing Olympics but unlike the previous years, where the concentration was just on putting up a decent show, this time around there is buzz of even coming back with a medal or two. Especially with the Indian pugilists coming up with some good results in major competitions over the last couple of years.
And the credit for the renaissance must go to Bhiwani Boxing Club (known as BBC), Haryana run by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which is emerging as a breeding ground of boxers in the country.
Four of their products — Akhil Kumar (54kg), Vijender (75kg), Jitender Kumar (51kg) and Dinesh Kumar (81kg) — have qualified for the Olympics further establishing the town’s tradition of churning out quality boxers. The fifth boxer Anthresh Lalit Lakra (57kg) practices his skills at the Tata Steel Boxing Centre in Jamshedpur.
Vijender, who clinched a gold at the last qualifiers in Kazakhstan, will be participating in his second successive Olympics and feels a medal is definitely on the cards this time around. “I think I stand a good chance to win a medal and so do the rest who have qualified. It is a strong team,” he said.
While national coach JS Sandhu doesn’t want to put a finger on a number tally, he is optimistic about boxing in India. “I can’t predict how many medals we’ll win at Olympics. A lot depends on how favourable the draw is; besides luck also plays a major factor. But over the years, I can say Indian boxers have matured a lot and the future looks bright.”
But BBC coach Jagdish Singh is confident that his wards will not return from the Games empty-handed. This is not the first time that his boys are going to the Olympics, Akhil and Vijender were there at the Athens Olympics four years ago. “This time my boys are better equipped and I am confident that they will bag one or two medals,” said the proud coach.
Asked which one of them has the best chance, Jagdish said, “I would say they all have a chance, but experience-wise Akhil has a better chance.”
With boxers from BBC winning laurels internationally it has attracted attention from corporates as well. The Mittal Champions Trust supports the centre, besides taking responsibility of individually sponsoring three boxers from BBC- - Akhil Kumar, Vijender and Jitender Kumar.
National coach GS Sandhu was all praise for the centre. “While other centres are doing well, the Bhiwani centre is churning out some quality boxers. The coaches over there are doing excellent job with their wards,” Sandhu said.
Another reason, Sandhu feelsfor the healthy state of Indian boxing, is that all people involved are working in tandem. “There is lot of professionalism. Coaches and federation are very supportive towards players. The set-up is improving day-by-day and will improve further,” said Sandhu.
One of the main reasons our boxers did well during the qualifiers is a change in technique, feels Sandhu. “We are concentrating on long range boxing, throwing straight punches which will help our boxers score clear points. Recently we have added individualised training sessions. We had it earlier as well, but nowadays we have one session daily during camps. It helps us work on any specific weakness boxers have.”
The micro attention is materialising into macro gains and hopefully, there will be more to come.
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