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The 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championship is just two weeks away and the Indian boxing contingent is according finishing touches to its preparations for the big-ticket event. India will field six boxers – Devendro Singh (49 kg), Shiva Thapa (56 kg), Manish Kaushik (60 kg), Manoj Kumar (64 kg), Vikas Krishnan Yadav(75 Kg) and Satish Kumar (+91 Kg) – in the AIBA World Boxing Championship.
Not just the significance of the World Boxing Championship, which also serves as an Olympic qualifying event, but the changed rules of the event means the Indian boxers have their work cut out. “The World Championship has undergone changes and given this it will not be easy for Indian boxers. The 2015 edition will see the cream of boxers fighting, unlike the earlier editions when it used to have an open entry,” says Indian team head coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu.
Sandhu, who has been coaching the national team for over two decades now, explains the enormity of the task that lies ahead of the Indian pugilists. “See, at the 2011 World Championship all quarterfinalists in each weight category qualified for the Olympics. Now a boxer may not even qualify for the Olympics if he wins a bronze. For 49, 52 and 81 kg categories, only the gold and silver medal winner will qualify for Olympics, for five categories 56,60,64,69 and 75 categories only gold, silver and bronze winners will qualify and for 91 and +91 categories only the winners qualify for the Olympics. Indian boxers, like other nations will find it very hard.”
The Indian coach stopped short of predicting any medals at the World Championship. “India have won just two medals in the World Championship – both bronze - first won by Vijender in the 2009 edition and Vikas Krishan Yadav in the 2011 edition. Getting a medal in the World Championship is not easy as there is cut-throat competition in each category.”
Isn’t it amazing that Indian boxers have been consistently faring well on the international stage despite the fact that there is no federation in place and our pugilists are fighting under the AIBA flag? “Look, the AIBA-appointed ad-hoc committee has been entrusted with the responsibility to manage the affairs for now. The SAI has been offering tremendous support and boxers are getting everything in terms of facilities for training,” Sandhu quips.
The veteran coach is bullish about the number of boxers that will qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. “I think we should have five to six men boxers and one to two women boxers for the Rio Olympics,” he signed off.
