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Pugilists leave for Milan wary of expectations and desperate to break the medal jinx.
Hoping to end their medal drought and impress franchisees of next year’s World Series of Boxing, an eight-member Indian contingent left on Wednesday for the 15th World Championships scheduled from September 1-12 in Milan, Italy.
Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh and assistant coach Jaidev Bisht stayed back and would leave on Saturday night after receiving the Khel Ratna and the Dronacharya award, respectively, from the President.
“The world championships are going to be tougher than the Olympics. But this is as strong a team as can be prepared and hopefully it would deliver,” said chief coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu ahead of the team’s departure.
India has never won a medal at the event with the best being quarterfinal appearances by the likes of Olympian AL Lakra, who was the only one to make the last-eight stage in the previous edition of the championships in Chicago a couple of years ago.
“The expectations are going to be sky high after the way Indian boxers have performed in the past two years, especially in Beijing,” admitted Vijender, who goes into the meet as world No.2. “The pressure would be there but we can cope with it,” he added.
Akhil Kumar, who missed the event in 2007, is all set for official debut in the featherweight (57kg) division but far from being nervous, he exuded confidence of making a mark. “I am completely fit and though it would be the first time I compete in the featherweight division, I am sure that I can do well,” he said.
The championships feature 750 pugilists and it would take at least four bouts before a boxer gets to the medal round. “It is going to be really tough. Three rounds of three minutes each which tests endurance, add to this the European scoring system, in which judges don’t give points unless the punch is hard enough to cause a thud. It will be quite a challenge,” Akhil said.
T Nanao Singh, 18, a world youth champion, who won a silver medal in his very first senior event — the Asian Championships in China — is confident that he would end India’s medal drought at the event. “I have won a medal in every international competition that I have competed in and I am sure I can keep the record intact,” he said.
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