New Delhi: Indian Boxing team left for Kazakhstan for their first international tour of the year. The ten member team, along with three coaches and the team doctor will leave from IGI airport in the capital city on Monday (13th February, 2012). The competition is scheduled to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 14th Feb to 18th Feb 2012.

The competition is scheduled to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 14th Feb to 18th Feb 2012. Although a small affair, the event will witness teams like Russia and France apart from India and hosts Kazakhstan. The tour will also serve as a preparatory ground for the second and final qualifying event for the 2012 Olympics, which will also be played out in Kazakhstan.

While the current squad, which is a mix of talent and experience, sees some new faces making it to the fore, services boxer Chhote Lal Yadav also makes his return to the Indian team after a gap of seven months. Chhote Lal whose defining moment was winning the Silver in the 2010 South Asian Games has constantly had to prove his worth in a category which at the moment is a bundle of talent. The competitive world of the bantam weight division in India features the likes of Beijing Olympics quarter-finalist Akhil Kumar, Asian Games bronze medallist Jitender Kumar and 2010 Youth Olympics silver medallist Shiva Thapa. But the 25 year old boxer relishes the challenge and believes harder the competition, better the results. “There is no doubt that the bantam weight class is very competitive, but it bodes well for the sport and constantly drives us do better.” The Varanasi Lad is looking at this event as an opportunity to get back to winning stead. He said, “It has been a long gap for me from International competition, but I have been training hard at the camp and did well in the selection trails and hope to return with a good result.” Chhote Lal Yadav (56kg)

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paramjeet Samota (+91) and Asian Games silver medallist Manpreet Singh (91kg) will spearhead the Indian attack in heavy weight divisions. Samota who claimed his fifth successive ‘National Title’ in December last year is in good form and is hoping to get good exposure out of this tour. “Everyone is looking to secure an Olympic berth and this is my goal as well.

This tournament would be a good way to start the year and prepare for the Continental Qualifying tournament. A good performance here will certainly be a boost”, expressed the burley 23 year old.

National coach GS Sandhu, who would also be travelling with the team, believes that although the event is small with limited number of teams, the competition on display promises to be good. “We are not sending a full strength team, it is a mix squad. Our aim is provide the boxers with a platform that offers a favourable challenge and good match practice. The event will allow us to judge the youngsters and also an opportunity to study the opposition”¸ said the Dronacharya Award winner.

By Indian Sports News