Need to get our house in order: national boxing coach Sandhu

Indian national boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu today rued the administrative logjam that has pulled the sport down in the country, saying that the infighting has cost the pugilists very dearly.
India are currently without a national federation and although efforts are on to put together a new Boxing Federation of India (BFI), the process has turned out to be a long-drawn one.
"When there is fighting within the house, how can one remain strong outside?" was Sandhu's emotional response when asked to explain the slide in the fortunes of Indian boxing, which was expected to scale new heights after the 2008 bronze medal by Vijender Singh.

A total of eight boxers had qualified for the 2012 London Olympics but only one -- Shiva Thapa (56kg) -- has made the cut for the upcoming Rio Games so far.
"Indian boxing is going down and we need to think of our house. We need to get rid of these inner fights to move ahead. That's my only plea," said long-serving coach.
Sandhu was speaking at the pre-bout press conference of the AIBA Pro Boxing fight night where Vikas Krishan will take on Kenya's Nickson Abaka at a Noida mall tomorrow.
Also present at the event was Delhi Boxing Association chief Rohit Jain, who is being seen as a top contender for the President's post in the BFI.

"I will definitely contest the elections and let's see how things go. Right now, the entire process of forming the BFI is shrouded in such secrecy that I am not very aware of what's going on," Jain, who is sponsoring tomorrow's bout, said in response to queries on the state of Indian boxing.