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Boxers say their World Cup performance was creditable

The our Indian boxers who returned home from Moscow say that their performance in the World Cup was creditable.

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NEW DELHI: There are two ways of looking at the Indian pugilists’ performance at the AIBA World Cup in Moscow. For the optimist, it is a creditable four medals while for those with a contrasting view, all four boxers failed to win more than a round.

A changed format from the original team competition in the first two editions (2005 and 2006) meant that the now biennial championship would see the spotlight on individual performances. That suited the Indian contingent fine after they made their presence felt in the Beijing Olympics, the highlight being Vijender Singh’s bronze, the first for the country in the sport.

Akhil Kumar (bantamweight), Jitender Kumar (flyweight), Dinesh Kumar (light heavyweight) and AL Lakra (featherweight) all returned from Moscow with bronze medals that were assured to losing semifinalists in the eight-man competition in each category.

Though four medals are probably more than were expected, there was always the possibility of getting a medal of a different hue, especially from Akhil.

The bantamweight boxer put things in perspective on the team’s return, garlanded and lifted on shoulders by members of the small boxing fraternity who turned up at the international airport to welcome them.

“What is important is that we have shown that we are amongst the best boxers. We are carrying on a tradition that started some years ago and these performances will help others to take to the sport. I am sure they (younger boxers) will do much better for the country in the coming years,” said Akhil, who was quite a hit at the Beijing Olympics with a challenging open stance that took him close to a medal.

Jitender felt there was still some way to go before India emerged as a power to reckon with. “I think we have not passed many milestones yet. There is still a lot to be done,” said Jitender.

Coach GS Sandhu was more enthusiastic on return, reiterating his belief that the Indians had their opponents on the defensive.

“If you see, the bouts that our pugilists were involved in, were all low-scoring affairs with Akhil losing on a countback after a 4-4 score. We thought our opponents, including the Cubans, were afraid of us. It shows that we are a growing power in boxing,” said Sandhu. “It is largely due to a larger pool of players available to us now as well as a more systematic approach to competition that has been getting us such good results in recent competitions,” he added.
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