Date:08/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/08/stories/2008100855681700.htm

Sport - Sports : General

Indian pugilists ready for action

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

GEARING UP: Nanao Singh Thokchom (left) and Sunil train under the watchful eyes of coach G. Manoharan.

Pune: The boldness in Indian boxing, on show at the Beijing Olympics, will be witnessed in the ring once again as the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) 2008 gets underway on Sunday. An eight-member squad is gearing up for action at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Ghorpadi near Pune, for the competition to be held at the Balewadi complex.

Olympic hero Vijender Singh’s cousin, Balvinder Beniwal, is one of the under-19 boxers in the team coached by G. Manoharan. “Beijing Olympics has changed the face of the sport in India. In my village Bhiwani for example, youngsters want to become boxers. Earlier about 10 kids used to train, now 40 line up,” said the Haryana lad, India’s entry in the 69kg category.

Top class facility

The youngsters moved into ASI from September 1 for focused training after two camps in Aurangabad.

“The facilities here are the best in India and the boys are eager for action,” said Manoharan, tuning up the eight for the CYG featuring 104 competitors from 32 nations. He names Nanao Singh Thokchom (48kg), V. Santosh Kumar (64kg) and Sunil (51kg) as special talents based on progress made over the years.

“We have chosen the best eight after trials last week. Nanao and Sunil won medals at the Commonwealth boxing championships in 2007 where we sent a junior squad for the seniors’ event. A few others made their mark in the junior Olympic Games in Cuba.”

Major boost

Coach Manoharan points out that the performance in the 2007 Commonwealth meet, where the juniors won nine medals in a senior competition, was a major boost for the future programme.

“The CYG is a stepping stone for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics. If the youngsters keep improving, we will have an experienced group of boxers by then,” he said.

The Indian squad: Nanao Singh Thokchom (SSCB) 48kg, Sunil (Har) 51kg, Durga Rao (SSCB) 54kg, Vikas (Har) 57kg, Neeraj Goyat (Pun) 60kg, V. Santosh Kumar (SSCB) 64kg, Balvinder Beniwal (Har) 69kg, Satender (SSCB) 75kg.

Chief coach: G. Manoharan (Kar).

Coaches: Mohinder Singh Dhaka (SAI) and Braja Bhusan Mohanty (SSCB).

Manager: Lt. Col. Jaya Kumar (SSCB).