With seven medals, three of them gold and four bronze, Indian boxers had scaled an unprecedented high in the 2010 edition of the Games in front of adoring and vociferous home fans. Cut to now, the boxers could not have hoped for worst circumstances going into a major sporting event.
The federation has been terminated and there seems no end in sight to the administrative mess.
In fact, the Indians were initially barred from having their coaches as ringside seconds here due to the federation’s termination. But the International Boxing Association (AIBA) relented after some time, much to their relief. The Indian team this time comprises seven men and three women after pugilists from the fairer sex were handed a CWG debut this time.
Of the seven men, only Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh (75kg) were a part of the super-successful team of the previous edition. Manoj was among the three gold-medallists, while the more fancied and more famous Vijender had settled for a rather controversial bronze in Delhi.
‘No matter what the circumstances, we are prepared for everything,’ said Vijender, India’s first Olympic and World Championships medallist. The rest of the team comprises youngsters who have risen to prominence in the past couple of years. Among the men, L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) are the most promising of the lot, having proved their mettle in the recent past.
Shiva is the reigning Asian champion, while Devendro had won a silver in the same edition alongwith Mandeep. The three are the biggest medal hopes for the country along with Sumit.However, India’s last major international outing was not too impressive.
The team returned empty-handed from the World Championships, their first exposure to the new AIBA technical rules which do not allow for protective head guards anymore. A positive to build on was that the five of them made the quarterfinals fighting off stiff competition despite being denied international exposure owing to the federation’s international suspension.
Indian boxers have also not been shy in expressing their apprehension of greater injury risk due to the new rules but will have to adjust nonetheless. PTI
The federation has been terminated and there seems no end in sight to the administrative mess.
In fact, the Indians were initially barred from having their coaches as ringside seconds here due to the federation’s termination. But the International Boxing Association (AIBA) relented after some time, much to their relief. The Indian team this time comprises seven men and three women after pugilists from the fairer sex were handed a CWG debut this time.
Of the seven men, only Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh (75kg) were a part of the super-successful team of the previous edition. Manoj was among the three gold-medallists, while the more fancied and more famous Vijender had settled for a rather controversial bronze in Delhi.
‘No matter what the circumstances, we are prepared for everything,’ said Vijender, India’s first Olympic and World Championships medallist. The rest of the team comprises youngsters who have risen to prominence in the past couple of years. Among the men, L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) are the most promising of the lot, having proved their mettle in the recent past.
Shiva is the reigning Asian champion, while Devendro had won a silver in the same edition alongwith Mandeep. The three are the biggest medal hopes for the country along with Sumit.However, India’s last major international outing was not too impressive.
The team returned empty-handed from the World Championships, their first exposure to the new AIBA technical rules which do not allow for protective head guards anymore. A positive to build on was that the five of them made the quarterfinals fighting off stiff competition despite being denied international exposure owing to the federation’s international suspension.
Indian boxers have also not been shy in expressing their apprehension of greater injury risk due to the new rules but will have to adjust nonetheless. PTI