New Delhi: Indian boxers bound for the 2012 London Olympics were in the capital city of New Delhi extending their full support to the ‘Go for Gold’ campaign – an initiative brought to life by Monnet Ispat and & Energy Ltd, the official team and kit sponsors for the Indian Boxing Team and Percept India, Marketing Partners of IABF(Indian Boxing Federation). The Campaign is a nationwide movement to encourage Indian athletes and unite the Indian fans to support them for the forthcoming London Games.
Vikas Krishan (69kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and L Devendro Singh (49kg) who qualified for the mega event at the 2011 World Boxing Championships, the first Olympic qualifying event for boxing, took time off from their busy training schedule in NIS Patiala to be a part of this event.
Krishan, who went on to bag a bronze medal and become the second Indian ever to win a World Championship medal after Vijender Singh, was all praises for this initiative. He said, “This is a great idea undertaken by the Monnet group, it will generate awareness across India about the multi-sport event and at the same time will help motivate the athletes with the support of their countrymen”.
Krishan, a gold medallist at the Guangzhou Asian Games also spoke about his goals and preparations in the lead up to London 2012. “This is going to be my first Olympics and I am training hard for the event with the guidance of my coaches and seniors. I am absolutely fit now and my focus will be to remain a 100% and peak at the right time”.
The drive will include a torch run for the ‘Go for Gold’ relay campaign that will commence from Kashmir and culminate in Kanyakumari, featuring Indian sports achievers and prominent celebrities. The run will be flagged off on 10th February 2012 from Jammu and Srinagar and will travel 50 cities across the country finally culminating on May 27th 2012. The torch was unveiled by Ajay Maken, Honourable Sports Minister of India, Brig PK Muralidharan Raja, Secretary General of the Indian Boxing Federation, Sandeep Jajodia, Managing Director, Monnet Ispat & Energy Limited, Shailendra Singh Managing Director, Percept India and Kapil Dev former captain, Indian Cricket team.
Ajay Maken expressed his views in support of the ‘Go for Gold’ campaign and said, “It is a great initiative by a corporate like Monnet to support Olympics sports and it will act as a great motivating factor for our young athletes to know that the entire nation is backing them as they go in search of glory for the Tricolour”. Brig Raja said that initiatives like this act as a big motivating factor for our Olympic squads. He further stated, “While this drive is a brilliant platform undertaken to motivate our athletes, it will also encourage other organisations to come forward and support Olympic sports”.
Sandeep Jajodia, MD Monnet Group said, “We understand there are several people across the country who want to show their support for our athletes, but do not know how. This is an opportunity for them to come together and run for a cause. ‘Go for Gold’ campaign is spread across the country and aims to create maximum support. Our athletes have already put us on the world map, this is our way to show support and encourage them to attain further glory”.
Indian Sports News
