New Delhi: A ten member Indian Youth boxing team consisting of six boxers, two coaches and two officials left the capital city of New Delhi in the wee hours on Wednesday (17 Oct 2012) to participate in the 33rd International Tammer Tournament in Finland. The tournament, which is scheduled to be held from the 18th – 21st October, 2012 in Tampere, Finland, is an Olympic style boxing tournament which is being organized by the Finnish Boxing Association since 1977.
Over the years the event has gained worldwide appreciation for the kind of talent and skill that is on display. This year the 33rd edition of the tournament will witness over 100 pugilists from 19 countries vying for a podium finish. Apart from India and the host country Austria, England, Estonia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales have registered to entered the tournament.
Since the eligibility criteria for the competition encompasses the 17 and above boxers as well, the playing field is expected to be heady mix of youth and experience. With the idea to provide young Indian boxers good exposure and to give them a better sense of competition at the international senior level the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) decided to field a team for the Tammer Tournament. Secretary General, IABF Mr Rajesh Bhandari believes such tournaments play a vital role in the development of a boxer and will prove to be a good opportunity for the youth boxers to excel in the global arena. He added, “There are some good boxing nations participating in this event, hence this will be a good tournament for our youth boxers. Our aim is provide them with a platform that offers a favourable challenge and a chance to rub shoulders with more experienced pugilists, which I believe is an ideal way to improve performance and build in confidence”.
Coach-in-charge of the youth men’s team Mr G Manoharan said that this competition is a part of our preparation for the AIBA Youth World Championships that is slated to be held in November this year. He also mentioned, “This competition will be a learning curve for our boxers and a good performance here will certainly be a big morale boost for them in the upcoming Youth World Championships. Although medals are not our priority, but we looking to get good learning and match practice out of this event”. The six boxers’ selected for this tournament will also be seen in action at the Youth World Championship at Yerevan, Armenia later this year.
By Indian Sports News Network
