In a massive fillip to their Olympic dreams, World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) were among the four Indian boxers selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a scholarship.
Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg) and Sumit Sangwan (69kg) were the other two boxers picked by the IOC after recommendations from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Bidhuri has made an impression by his decent run at the World Series of Boxing and has bagged a second successive stint, signed by the USA Knockouts franchise for the upcoming season.
Sumit, on the other hand, made a name for himself by clinching a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Championships before winning a gold at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers before the 2012 London Games.
The boxers will get a sum of USD 800 every month till August next year, provided they qualify for the Olympic Games, besides an additional USD 5,000 to cover their transportation cost for participation in the Olympic qualifying events.
"I am very honoured to get this scholarship because any support is crucial right now. It is also very morale-boosting to get such acknowledgement from the IOC," said Jangra.
