Games to help India's boxing

24 July 2002

Success could breed success says India’s coach.

India’s head coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu hopes to win more funding for amateur boxing in his country through success at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.

India hope some members of their seven-man team will be on the medal podium at the MEN Arena on Saturday, 3 August, following successes at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998, the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the World Championships last year.

Middleweight Jitender Kumar, who won silver at the Kuala Lumpur Games, is one of the Indian medal prospects, along with 1999 Asian Games gold medallist Dinko Singh in the bantamweight division.

Boxing is growing in popularity in India and Sandhu admits success at the Games would ensure boxing’s continuing development through increased funding.

“We need to be successful for better funding and to get more support from the government,” he said. “We are not a strong boxing nation, but a developing one and we are trying to reach our goal at every level.

“We are improving because we have a good organisation and the funding is good. Every one of our boxers is a prospect.”

Info News Service/np/sdb