Indian boxers make the upper cut

Now that five indians have qualified for olympic boxing, medal hopes are high.

The failure of the Indian hockey team to make it to Beijing has done two things. First, it has laid to rest the once-in-four-years routine of harbouring false hopes of a hockey medal. And second, it has given other sports a chance to come to the forefront and take up the mantle of "realistic medal prospects".

With five qualifiers, the largest contingent ever at the Olympics, it's boxing that people are actually betting on this time.

Unlike hockey, with boxing it is not historical blind optimism which is getting people's hopes up. The confidence stems from the fact that the pugilists themselves have consistently been doing well in international events. Vijender, Akhil Kumar, Jitender Singh, Dinesh Kumar and Antharish Lakra have beaten top boxers and won medals regularly.

Vijender, who was the last to make the cut, is extremely happy about qualification but is taking nothing for granted. "I am delighted to have secured my berth at the Olympics but I know it's still an uphill struggle ahead."

He admits that confidence is high among the boxers, but that it comes from experience. "We have shown that we can compete and beat the very best."

Akhil Kumar is another boxer who remains confident of doing a good job in Beijing. He gives credit to his coaches, training, hard work and help from the Indian Boxing Association for all the plaudits coming his way. "Qualification was the main aim and we know we can come back with a medal and make the country proud."

Ask coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu and he says he's not even a bit surprised at the turn of events. "It hasn't happened overnight and if you look at our results over the last two years you will see that."

He is spot on about that. An impressive showing at the Doha Asian Games, which earned two medals, followed by winning medals at various international events, have shown that the boxers have come a long way.

"They needed to work on their technique as we had seen the areas where we were lacking." And full credit to the boys, they have done tremendously well, he adds.

The training methods imparted by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation have changed and more dedicated coaches have come out. Specialist coaches have been assigned to give training in various areas such as body movements and fitness.

Another area which needed to be addressed was technique. Technically, our pugilists have been inferior to those from other Asian countries like Thailand, or countries like Cuba or Russia.

The Olympics are five months away, and the boxers will undergo a lot of training camps, in India as well as abroad. A national preparatory camp is being scheduled for next month. "The real hard work begins now and we can't afford to take things for granted," says Kumar.

As Vijender puts it, "We can't afford to waste the good work and I am hopeful about our medal chances." Sandhu, however, feels that they will have to take it one bout at a time. "The competition at the Olympics would be intense and the quality of opposition would also be better, so we would need to remain focussed."

Expectations are high but there will also be a hint of pessimism. In the past, the Indian Olympic athletes have flattered to deceive.

Anju Bobby George was supposed to be a favourite at Athens but disappointed. As Kumar says, "We aren't the favourites for a medal but we are contenders and we hope that we don't disappoint."

Their hopes are high and so is their confidence. With five boxers in, Sandhu remains hopeful of at least one of them coming back with a medal. "The chances this time are extremely high and we are keeping our fingers crossed." So is the rest of the nation.