Indian boxers to travel to Italy and France for training and competition
India’s elite men and women boxers will travel to Italy and France from October 15 to December 5 for their overseas training and international competitions.
Published : Oct 07, 2020 15:36 IST
India’s elite men and women boxers will travel to Italy and France for a period of 52 days from October 15 to December 5 for their overseas training and participation in international competitions.
The overseas training and exposure trip has been sanctioned by the government at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.31 crore. A 28 member contingent will travel, which includes 10 male boxers and six women boxers along with the support staff.
Amit Panghal, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani will be some of the top boxers who will be part of the tour.
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Lovlina is looking forward to be participating in competition again. “It is very good that we will be getting a feeling of competition again. I am very excited about this. With 10 months to go before the Olympics, getting to compete against European opponents will be really helpful,” she said.
The men’s and women’s boxing team will be training at Assisi. The expenses will include their boarding, lodging, airfare and visa fees. Covid Tests of all 28 players and staff will also be covered under this expense. 13 boxers from the contingent will also participate in the “Alexis Vastine” International Boxing Tournament to be held in Nantes, France from October 28 to October 30.
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Ashish Kumar, men’s 75 kg boxer, said that this is good preparation as they would be coming up against opponents who they might face at the Olympics. “It will be very helpful for us to play against competitors from abroad. We were already at camp in Patiala and regained our fitness, going abroad will really help. When we meet new competitors, we will get an idea of our level. It will help us get a better idea of where we stand and what aspects we need to improve on.”
Mary Kom to skip tour
Mary Kom is currently recovering from a bout of dengue and has ruled out travelling abroad at least this year due to the COVID-19 threat. “I was not keeping well for the past two weeks because of dengue. I am much better now but won’t be travelling,” the six-time world champion and London Olympics bronze-medallist told PTI .