Indian boxers will train in Europe to gain overseas exposure ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Indian elite boxers will be travelling to Italy and France on an overseas exposure training camp, which will last for a period of 52 days from October to December, as they step up their training and preparations for international competitions.

The training arrangements abroad have been sanctioned by the Government of India at an estimated cost of INR 1.31 crores.

A contingent of 28 members, including 10 male boxers and 6 female boxers, will head over to Italy later this month along with their coaches and support staff. The boxing team will undergo training at Assisi, a hilly town in central Italy from October 15 to December 5. Expenses such as boarding, lodging, airfare, visa fees and the COVID-19 testing costs for all the 28 members will be covered under the sanctioned amount.

13 boxers from the contingent will be participating in the Alexis Vastine International Boxing Tournament, which is scheduled to be held in Nantes, France from October 28 to October 30.

Lovlina Borgohain, who competes in the Women's welterweight (69 kg) category, is raring to get back in the ring and take on the competition in Europe. She said:

"It is very good that we will be getting a feeling of competition again. I am very excited about this. With 10 months to go before the Olympics, getting to compete against European opponents will be really helpful."

Nine Indian boxers have secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics

Indian boxers are on their way to set the record for the highest number of qualifications in a single Olympics event as a total of nine pugilists have secured their Tokyo Olympics quota.

Some of the Tokyo-bound boxers such as Ashish Kumar, Amit Panghal, Simranjit Kaur, Satish Kumar, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani will be a part of the contingent set to travel to Italy later this month.

Indian Men's boxing team chief coach CA Kuttappa heralded the government for sanctioning the overseas tour and said that it will provide the right opportunity for the boxers to test themselves against international competitors.

" At this time last year, we were at peak competition fitness, participating in the World Championships and were training intensely. Thank the government for sanctioning this. The boxers are very happy; they wanted to do something different, they need competition and training. They want to see where they stand compared to the European boxers. This overseas exposure will give a better idea of competition from Europe."

Boxers from event categories such as Men’s 57 kg, Men’s 81 kg, Men’s 91 kg and Women’s 57 kg, where India is yet to secure Tokyo Olympics qualification, will also be a part of the 28-member contingent.