The Hindu : Sport / Olympic Games : Jitender looks to better his record

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 14, 2004

Sport

Sport - Olympic Games

Jitender looks to better his record

ATHENS, AUG. 13. The Indian pugilists begin their campaign in the Olympic Games on Saturday with Jitender Kumar exchanging punches with a much superior Andriy Fedchuk of Ukraine in the opening bout of the 81kg weight category at the Peristeri Hall.

Jitender, the 26-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist, had bowed out in the second round of the 75kg class in the previous edition of the Games in Sydney and would be striving hard to better his record this time around.

Jitender is known for his quicksilver reflexes but he needs to put all his skills to full use in order to advance to the next stage.

Vijender Kumar, the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the mega event, would be up against Turkey's Karagollu Mustafa in the first round of the 64kg light welter class on Sunday.

Vijender, who made the Games by getting through the Olympic qualifiers at Karachi, has been brimming with confidence since winning the bronze in the pre-Olympic event at this very Peristeri Hall and needs to retain his composure to make the quadrennial showpiece more than a mere learning experience.

Two other boxers — Akhil Kumar (flyweight) and Divakar Prasad (bantamweight) — will take to the ring on Aug. 17 in an event, which has been traditionally dominated by Cuba, Russia and USA though Asians have also made their mark of late in the lower weight categories. — PTI

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