Australia pull out of Commonwealth boxing championship

Stepping into a boxing ring for the first time in four months,Akhil Kumar was tentative at his first sparring session in Patiala recently.

Stepping into a boxing ring for the first time in four months,Akhil Kumar was tentative at his first sparring session in Patiala recently. The bantamweight boxer,back from a stint in South Africa after working on his wrist injury,was careful not to go all out in the first stint.

But with the Commonwealth Boxing Championships two months away from March 10 to 18 in New Delhi he is keen to get back to peak fitness. I put on some weight because of all the strength training in South Africa. I have to lose that and also get back match fitness. Sparring in the ring is completely different from training outside; it is important to face an opponent to get a true assessment of your potential, he said at the announcement of the March event on Thursday.

At the same time,he is careful to take care of his hand. Earlier,I never bothered about taking care of injuries after recovery. Now I know I cannot take another chance. In the coming days,while I will maintain my way of play,I will also try to mix it with a slightly more defensive approach, he added.

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The tournament,a test event ahead of the Commonwealth Games,will see participation from around 120 boxers from 14 countries England,Wales,Scotland,Ireland,South Africa,Pakistan,Sri Lanka,Malaysia,Bangladesh,Mauritius,Kenya,Samoa and Singapore for the 40 medals at stake.

However,with Australia pulling out citing prior commitments, Indian Boxing Federation secretary general PK Muralidharan Raja said and Canada yet to confirm,the event is likely to lose some of its sheen. Also,there are doubts on whether the venue for the event Talkatora Stadium will be ready in time. We have been assured the entire stadium will be ready. The main boxing ring and surrounding areas are already finished and even if we do not get the whole structure ready in time,the part that we need,which is the arena and the lounge area for boxers and officials,will be ready, Raja said.

India won a gold,two silver and six bronze medals in the previous edition.

Team yet to be picked

The Indian team for the event is yet to be selected,with the Super Cup in Mumbai later this month as one of the criteria. However,with some of the top boxers in the country including Vijender Singh,Jitender Kumar,Dinesh Kumar and Diwakar Prasad opting out of the Super Cup,the trials next month in February will also be important for the final composition of the team of 20.

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We have 40 boxers practising right now in Patiala and I am hopeful of very good results from the entire team,whoever may be selected, national coach GS Sandhu said.

Search for marketing agents

Raja also said that the IBF will send out tender documents to prospective bidders on Saturday in its search for an exclusive marketing agent,with the bidders having 21 days to respond. Once finalised,the agents will have to provide a minimum guarantee,besides working out a profit-sharing agreement,to help the IBF raise funds for the development of the sport at the grassroots.

As of now,5-6 major players have expressed interest including IMG,Percept,Leisure Sports Management (LSM),IOS and Powersport with some more expressing keenness. The agreement will be for a period of four years,from February 1,2010-December 31,2014, Raja said.