New Delhi: Indian boxing new and emerging star Vikas Krishan (69kg), who bagged a bronze medal at the AIBA World championship along with an Olympic quota, will lead the Indian attack in the 43rd Men's and Women's Boxing Grand Prix to be held at Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic from the March 21 to 25.
A combined team of Indian men and women boxers left the capital city of Delhi on Monday to participate in the tournament. The squad includes five men and three women boxers along with a support staff of three coaches and a physiotherapist. The tournament, being organised by Czech Boxing Association, will be held from the March 21 to 25 and witness over 130 boxers from around 20 countries vying for top honours.
National coach GS Sandhu believes the tournament is expected to draw good boxers from the Asian and European region and would be a good exposure for the selected boxers. He emphasised, “This is be a build up tournament to the London Olympics and we are expecting to encounter good competition. We are not looking to win laurels at this point, Olympics is our main goal and we are looking to get as much competition experience as possible before the main event”. Talking about the team composition the Dronacharya Awardee stated, “Three of our Olympic qualified boxers are participating in the event along with two other boxers who have already been selected to compete in the Asian Olympic Qualifying tournament (That is slated to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from April 4 – April 13, 2012). This will be a good opportunity for them to access the level of competition as quite a few of the boxers, who have already made it to the Olympics, are likely to come to the Czech Republic.”
Vikas Krishan said that the tournament would be a preparatory event. He expressed, “Participating in international competition is the best way to prepare and this competition will be a good way to get more exposure and match practice and get ready for the London Olympics”. The “Usti Nad Labem Grand Prix” would be Vikas’s second competition after his bronze medal winning performance in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 20 year old also participated in the London Boxing International Invitational tournament, which was held in November last year at the London Olympic boxing venue, where he won the silver medal.
Manoj Kumar (64kg) will also be seen in action Czech Republic. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist will be making his first his international appearance after clinching an Olympic quota at the AIBA World championship in September last year.
“Olympics is the main event, these tournaments are just a means to an end. This is going to be my first tournament in six months. I have trained hard and practiced to fight a more composed and accurate bout; this event will help me put the techniques that I have learnt into practice”, expressed the 25 year old.
The third Olympic bound Indian who is also a part of the Indian squad is Jai Bhagwan (60kg). Like Manoj, Jai would also be playing his first tournament after the AIBA World championship. The Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist also has similar expectation from this tour and hopes get more experience before the Olympics.
Youngsters Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) complete the five member Indian men’s team for the event. Both the boxers did exceptionally well in the recently concluded National Trials for Asian Olympic Qualifying tournament, beating their more experienced counterparts and cementing their place in the Indian squad.
In the women’s division of the Grand Prix, Asian Games bronze medallist Kavita Goyat (75kg) will lead the Indian charge. Van Lal Duati (51kg) and Preeti Beniwal (60kg) complete the women’s team for the event. The Grand Prix will provide a good opportunity for the Indian girls to get match fit and into a good rhythm before the selection trials for the AIBA Women’s World Championship, which will also act as the only qualifier in women’s boxing, for the London Olympiad.
