August 18 is not a date thar Akhil Kumar can forget ever. Two years back,this was the day when Akhil,considered a sure shot for a medal,lost to little known Vaecelav Gojan of Maldova in the quarters at Beijing and missed a chance at Olympic glory. On Thursday,as the Indian team was announced for the World Championships to be held in Baku from September 22,Akhil edged out the challenge of youngsters like Shiva Thapa,Jitender and Chhote Lal Yadav for the lone spot in the bantamweight (56kg),a category which he made his own for a long time and saw him win medals at the 2006 Melbourne CWG. It has been tough mentally for me as I was down with injuries and viral fever for the last one month. When I got the news of the selection,I was surprised that it has come on the same day which decided my fate in Beijing. But I am ready for yet another new beginning in my career and hopefully all will be on track this time, Akhil said on his selection. We all have been working hard for this and the World Championships will provide us an opportunity to get one of the ten quotas available. In Athens and Beijing,we had three qualifying events but this time we have only two and it will be crucial for us to earn the quota soon, he added. Akhil,who earned the quota for Beijing in the second qualifier in 2007 much before eventual Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh booked his own is now looking forward to reclaiming his position in the hierarchy of Indian boxing,something it looked he had lost forever in the glut of newer competition. Meanwhile,there were not much surprises in the team with national coach GS Sandhu expecting at least 3-4 Olympic berths from Baku. The team: Devendro Singh (49kg),Suranjoy Singh (52kg),Akhil Kumar (56kg),Jai Bhagwan (60kg),Manoj Kumar (64kg),Vikas Krishan (69kg),Vijender Singh (75kg),Dinesh Kumar (81kg),Manpreet Singh (91kg),Paramjeet Singh (91+kg)
