MC Mary Kom, a six-time world champion, and Amit Panghal, an Asian Games gold medalist, are among the prominent names missing from the finalised roster of boxers for the 13-day national camps. Lovlina Borgohain, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, has been added to the list.
In reality, none of the five male boxers who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, including Manish Kaushik, Ashish Chaudhary, Vikas Krishan, and Satish Kumar, have been selected among the 52 men who will train at Patiala’s National Institute of Sports from December 11 to 24. (NIS). Vikas is currently suffering from a shoulder ailment that need surgery.
On the same dates, the women’s camp will be held at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Rohtak.
“The reason for this is that they did not compete in the national championships. It was determined in advance that this camp would only be open to national medalists and those selected after a trial at the end of Nationals “On condition of anonymity, a top federation source told PTI.
“It does not apply to future camps, and no one should be anxious about missing out on this one. Those who are not there at this time will have the opportunity to return to the camps that will be held later ” he stated.
When reached, Mary Kom stated, “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Right now, I’m simply training at home. In mid-January, I’ll begin intense training with my team in preparation for the global championships.”
Manipuri, a former Olympic bronze medalist, is also a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. She intends to compete in the global championships as well as the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, next year.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) moved the women’s world championship from December to March this year due of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event has been pushed out to May of next year.
49 boxers will compete in the national women’s camp, including Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (70kg), former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (52kg), and Asian champion Pooja Rani (81kg), among others.
Borgohain did not compete in the nationals either, but due to her medal-winning performance in Tokyo, the federation agreed to make an exception in her case.
“The list is based on the decision made at the last executive committee meeting, in which Lovlina was the only one exempted,” the source stated.
There’s also Arundhati Chaudhary, the 19-year-old youth world champion who caused a stir in the Delhi High Court when she disputed Borgohain’s automatic selection for the world championship. After the mega-event was postponed, the federation consented to a trial.
Her national gold had earned her a spot in the camp, and she would be looking to make a good first impression.
Five-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Asian silver medalist Deepak Kumar (51kg), and former world championship quarterfinalist Kavinder Bisht (57kg) are among the campers in the men’s division.
Both the men’s and women’s camps will be led by new head coaches. The men’s camp will be led by Narender Rana, while the women’s camp will be led by Bhaskar Bhatt.
