Indian boxers are making rapid strides on the world stage in junior competitions. A bagful of medals from the Asian Youth and Junior Championships for the second successive edition has been reassuring about boxing's growing talent pool in the country.
Taking on strong opponents in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Indian pugilists fought with resilience to scoop 39 medals in Amman, Jordan. In the Youth category, India won seven gold, three silver, and eight bronze medals while the Junior team finished with
Indian boxers are making rapid strides on the world stage in junior competitions. A bagful of medals from the Asian Youth and Junior Championships for the second successive edition has been reassuring about boxing's growing talent pool in the country.
Taking on strong opponents in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Indian pugilists fought with resilience to scoop 39 medals in Amman, Jordan. In the Youth category, India won seven gold, three silver, and eight bronze medals while the Junior team finished with 21 medals — eight gold, seven silver, and six bronze. The youngsters showed good ring craft and a fearless streak that is new to Indian boxing in recent times.
Talk to any of these young medallists and they reveal with confidence about their dream of participating in the Olympics.
“My target is 2024 Paris Olympics and if that doesn’t happen, I will make it to 2028 Olympics for sure. That’s my dream,” says Vishwanath Suresh who won gold in 48kg in the Youth category.
The Chennai boy who trains in Army Sports Institute in Pune was introduced to the sport by his boxer father Suresh Prabhu, who could not go beyond the sub-junior national level because of financial constraints. Prabhu barely earned enough but laboured to fuel the boxing ambition of his son.
“I have seen some very bad days. There was not enough to buy clothes, forget about boxing gloves. But my father was so passionate about the sport. All the talk in my house was about Mohd Ali and Mike Tyson. I want to live my father’s dream,” says Vishwanath, who is eager to compete at the World Youth Championships in Alicante, Spain, in November this year.
It is exciting to see someone coming from Chennai. The southern state had a rich culture in the sport but infighting in state association played a spoiler. Then there is 16-year-old Jayant Dagar from Sikkim, who won bronze in 54kg. He is the first boxer to win an international medal from the state. Their success is good news for the sport that is chiefly centered in Haryana.
“We now have kids coming from Punjab, Maharashtra, and other states, but it is still more from Haryana. It is because of the kind of encouragement and support kids get in their families. It has become a culture and matter of pride,” says Amanpreet Kaur, head coach of the Youth women’s team who travelled with the pugilists to Jordan.
Coaching structure
The success at the youth level has come due to a structured coaching system, frequent international exposure, and a scientific approach to training. The performances have steadily improved in the last five years. At the 2016 AIBA World Youth Championships, India had just two medals. Since then, the change in the boxing scene has been dramatic. The 2018 edition saw Indian boxers win 10 medals (2-2-6). They built on the progress by pocketing 11 medals last year in Kielce, Poland.
The biggest difference was seen in the performance of female boxers. They won gold in seven of the 10 categories in Kielce that saw India for the first-time finish on the top of medals tally ahead of powerhouses Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. Some of these girls have already made a successful transition to the senior team, like Arundhati Choudhary who won the national championships in December (70kg).
The improvement in women’s boxing was evident from the fact that India qualified in four of the five categories at the Tokyo Olympics. The sole boxing medal from the Tokyo ring for India was won by Lovlina Borgohain (bronze).
“The girls are learning fast and very confident,” says Kaur.
“There is a sound system in place for four-five years and that’s why we are getting results. We focus on sub-junior and junior levels and see to it that they make a proper transition. It was not the case earlier. There are more competitions and exposure tours. Yes, we would like to have more extended national camps of three-four weeks to work on their weaknesses,” she says.
“We have worked on physical fitness, endurance, and speed. We used to lack explosive strength but we are catching up with top boxing nations now. We would want to train with Uzbek, Kazakh boxers in coming months. These Asian teams are strong are our big competitors,” she says.
Former international and World Cup medallist Venkatesan Devarajan believes India is investing in the right way at the junior level.
“I remember in 1991 the Cuban boxers came to India to train with us. They were one of the best teams in the world at the time and we were surprised to see their entourage, so many support staff members – coaches, doctors, physio, masseuse. You can say now the Indian teams travel with the same kind of coaching staff and that’s a big change,” says Devarajan.
As a selection committee member, he has also seen these boxers in trials and feels there is a consistent growth in their boxing skills.
“The women boxers are far better on the technical side now and not only in throwing punches. The footwork, ring craft, and intelligence have improved. This performance is coming because of good coaches and teamwork.”
“Most important thing would be to make sure that they make a good transition and perform at the highest level.”
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