‘Age is catching up with me’

“I know that either Jitu or I will take part in the tournaments this year. He is young and I have always considered him a better boxer than me. And age is catching up with me. I made some mistakes by participating in tournaments while I was still carrying an injury. I don’t want to repeat the same mistake.

“I want to take part in the 2012 Olympics and so,I will take part in fewer tournaments in the interim,” said the 28-year-old.

Part of Akhil’s dilemma in taking on Jitender is because of the International Boxing Association’s rejigging of the weight categories. Akhil,who jumped a division to featherweight at the beginning of last year,had returned to bantamweight,the division Jitender had moved up to.

“Only one of us will be selected in the trials. It won’t hurt me if he comes in in place of me. I just hope that we don’t have to face each other in trial matches. I can’t even think about fighting him in the ring,” said Akhil.

Meanwhile,Jitender,who is returning from a three-month layoff after a thumb injury,is confident of putting behind a disappointing year.

“It would be great to start the year with a medal. The last year was not a good one for me. I picked up injuries in both hands and could only manage a bronze at the Asian championship. I also played in fewer tournaments. So,I am looking on this championship as a platform to prove that I am back to fitness. I want to win lots of medals for the country this year,” said the 22-year old from Bhiwani.