Boxer will work with physiotherapist Heath Matthews to overcome injury to carpal bone of the right hand.
Akhil Kumar got off the train at Sion station. Hardly anyone noticed him. Akhil doesn’t mind the lack of attention these days. He has got the painful carpal bone of his right hand to worry about.
The bantamweight boxer is in the city to catch a flight to Durban where he will spend at least a month with the Indian team’s physiotherapist Heath Matthews. Jitender Kumar, the flyweight pugilist, will also make the trip. Jitender is nursing an injury to his left thumb.
Akhil injured his hand during the World Championships in Milan. Before becoming the toast of the nation during the Beijing Games, Akhil went under the knife on two occasions.
In 2005, he was operated upon by Anant Joshi after he fractured his right wrist. “I got back four weeks ahead of my rehabilitation schedule, only to find the injury to
recur,” Akhil told DNA on Tuesday.
In 2007, just after qualifying for the Beijing, he had to undergo another surgery on the same wrist, this time in Johannesburg under the watchful eyes of Matthews. Talking about his present injury, Akhil said, “Matthews has kept a track of my injury. This time, hopefully, I will get better without any surgery,” Akhil explained.
The nagging injury kept Akhil out of the 2007 Nationals. He also had to skip the World Boxing Championships in Chicago in the same year. Akhil recalls the support he received from the Mittal Champions Trust. On his return he won the gold in the bantamweight and also bagged the ‘best boxer’ award in the Continental Olympics qualifying event in Bangkok.
Cuban coach BI Fernandes, who works in tandem with national coach GS Sandhu, is optimistic about Akhil’s progress. “His trip should help him overcome the problem permanently. We hope to get Akhil fit in time for the CWG,” Fernandes told DNA.
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