Boxers hope dress rehearsal is a sign of the real thing

The tournament — a precursor of sorts to the Olympics — was held between May 26 and 30 at the Games venue; barring Russia and Ukraine, most contenders attended.

It was a satisfying experience for Akhil, an Afro-Asian Games gold medallist, because he chose to fight in the 54kg class instead of his usual 51. ‘‘It was good,’’ he says, adding, ‘‘I lost to a Cuban boxer who was a gold medallist at Sydney (2000 Olympics). It was morale-boosting to reach the podium at a heavier weight than mine and to watch a lot of the boxers we are going to fight in Athens. That can only help.’’

Vijender — at 19 the youngest Indian to ever qualify for an Olympiad — was similarly excited about having watched and fought some of those he will be up against when the real show starts. ‘‘Also, we have recorded several boxers in action, which we will now study and strategise accordingly. From now on, it’s mainly strategising and intensive training,’’ Vijender says.

Neither boxer — or the other two Indian qualifiers, Jitender Kumar and Diwakar Prasad — have reached their full potential yet, according to chief coach GS Sandhu. Speaking to The Indian Express from Patiala, Sandhu said, ‘‘Akhil will have to work on his combination of punches and while Vijender is extremely talented, he needs to work on his footwork a bit and the timing of his punches. These bronze medals, however, augur well for us — even though not all boxers were in action, if we get a bit lucky with the draw and things go right from there on a medal or two could come home.’’

Akhil seconds his coach’s opinion, saying, ‘‘I am sure I will get a medal. Because I wasn’t at my best at the meet and also I was fighting above my level. These things might work in favour of me. Plus there is time to work on the shortcomings.’’

Jitender — who had also qualified for Sydney — and Diwakar are currently in Patiala undergoing training and Akhil and Vijender will join them in a couple of days for what Sandhu calls ‘‘the final phase of training’’. It’s on to Athens after a couple of small warm-up tournaments in between then.