The Hindu : Sport / Boxing : Absorbing contests on the cards

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Sunday, Mar 18, 2007
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Sport - Boxing

Absorbing contests on the cards

Principal Correspondent

Hyderabad: The 53rd senior national boxing championship for men, commencing at Swarnandhra Pradesh Indoor Stadium (Gachibowli), will have added significance as the All India Boxing Federation has decided to select the best from the meet and groom them for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

With the national champion in middle weight category, Vijendar Singh of Railways, bronze medallist in the Commonwealth Games, V. Johnson of Services, and the silver medallist in the World cadet championship, Sanjay Kolte of Services, participating the meet is bound to be absorbing.

The incentive for the performing boxers is pretty clear — all the gold medallists will be sent to an invitational championship in Germany this May.

The big name missing will be the Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar (due to hand injury). However, the unexpected hero might just be Mohd. Ali Qamar who is on a comeback trail.

Crucial event

Col. Muralidharan Raja, secretary general of AIBF, said that the Nationals would be followed by the World Championship in Korea. Medallists there would book slots for the Beijing Games. He also said that two more Asian qualifying championships would be held but in them, only the gold and silver medallists will be eligible to book a slot for the next Olympics.

"This Nationals is significant given the fact that the Federation would identify a pool of boxers who are sure medal prospects. With Union Sports Ministry clearing the proposal to have the national camps for all seniors from the existing 250 days to 300 days an year, the Federation is keen to make optimum use of this and groom the best talent for the next 12 months," he explained.

The Hyderabad Nationals will also see a new rule implemented — the countdown for the boxer by the referee will continue despite the official time of the bout getting over. (Earlier, it was stopped once the time was over even though the count was not completed).

In the ring, the hosts and defending champions Services, runner-up Railways, Punjab, All India Police, Steel Plant and Assam Rifles are expected to dominate the seven-day competition.

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