IBF Press Release
7 Boxers Selected To Represent India At the 21st President's Cup Boxing Torunament In Indonesia

After a break of almost a month from International competition an eight member second string Indian Boxing Team will be seen in action at the 21st President’s Cup International Boxing Tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Indian Boxing Federation continuing with its efforts to provide Indian pugilist ample international exposure and an opportunity to excel at the global level, decided to field a team for the event which is schedule to be held from July 2nd to 9th, 2011. The Indonesian Amateur Boxing Federation (Pertina) announced earlier that it would hold the President’s Cup next month, bringing back the event after a seven-year hiatus. The tournament which was scrapped in 2004 will witness competitors from almost 30 countries, including three local teams (Garuda, Elang and Rajawali) vying for the top honours. Participation in competitions like these is a part of IABF’s training program chalked out for the Asian and the World Championships, slated to be held later this year and ultimately leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.

National Coach GS Sandhu believes this tournament will be a good opportunity and a big learning curve for the boxers participating. He says, “Tournaments like these provide a perfect platform to better acquaint our boys with the new scoring system. Moreover, if they excel in these competitions it is a big motivating factor for then”. The Dronacharya Awardee also added, “Since the competition is starting after a break of seven years it is difficult to adjudge the level of competition, but the event will helps us assess where we stand in Asia”.

The new scoring system that came into effect earlier this year has seen a major change in strategies and techniques of the sport. As per popular belief the game has evolved and become more aggressive. The earlier tactics adopted by many boxers of being defensive and going into a shell guard after having notched a few points has become redundant. Expressing his views on the new scoring system Coach Sandhu said, “Now there is a requirement for boxers to be attacking all the time as well as have sufficient strength and stamina in the last round to make an all-out attack. We have been using the new system at on-going training camp at NIS Patiala and although the transition is not easy but we should be up to speed soon”.

The last international tourney, Giraldo Córdova Cardin” Memorial Boxing Tournament in Havana, Cuba saw Indian Pugilists return home with one silver and five bronze medals. The training-cum-competition trip to Cuba turned out to be rewarding for Indian boxers in more ways than one. The 13 pugilists that made the trip to the traditional power house boxing nation, sparred with international boxers during training and also got a chance to interact with three-time Olympic and six-time world champion — the legendary Felix Savon Fabre.

The IABF held selections at NIS Patiala and based on the performance the 7 member squad was short listed. The selection committee at the trial comprised of National Coach Sandhu, Cuban Coach BI Fernandez Arjuna awardees Mehtab Singh, Mohd. Ali Qamar, Jitender Kumar and PB Mall.

Asian Games silver medallist and reigning national champion in the Light Welter Weight category V Santosh Kumar would be spear heading the Indian challenge in Indonesia. Kumar, who would be making his first appearance after the silver medal winning performance at the 2010 Asiad, is keenly looking forward to this opportunity, “Everyone is aiming for the Olympic Qualifying events, as am I, a good performance here will help me perform better and prep myself for the trails”, he said.

Representing India in the bantam weight category would be 2010 SAF games gold medallist Chhote Lal Yadav. Yadav would also be making his first international appearance after the Guangzhou Asian Games and like his SSCB counterpart, the 25 year old is raring to get a taste of competition, "I have had a long break from competition but I have been training very hard since the beginning of the year and am confident of a good outing in Indonesia”.

Accompanying Kumar and Yadav would be Santosh Harijan in the fly weight category. Santosh who already has two bronze medals to his name this year – one at international tourney in Kazakhstan and the other in Cuba – is looking to grab the yellow at this event, “Last time I missed on the gold, but I will try my level best to get it this time around”.
The complete squad is as follows:

S.No Name of Boxers Wt Cat Unit
1. Gaurav Bidhuri Light Fly Weight (49kg) DEL
2. Santosh Harijan Fly Weight (49kg) SSCB
3. Chhote Lal Yadav Bantam Weight (56kg) SSCB
4. Neeraj Goyat Light Weight (60kg) SSCB
5. V. Santosh Kumar Light Welter Weight (64kg) SSCB
6. Lakhbir Singh Welter Weight (69kg) PUN
7. Jasveer Singh Light Heavy Weight (81kg) RSPB
 
Support Staff
1. Narander Rana Coach
2. Jagdip Hooda Coach
3. Tarun Kumar Tamta Doctor

 

 

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