Can biggest-ever Olympics squad return with best-ever medal haul?

Boxing has been a supply of medals for India at virtually each worldwide sporting meet since 2006 together with the Olympics Video games in 2008 and 2012. So when the Indian boxing contingent returned empty-handed from the 2016 Rio Olympics, it was an enormous disappointment.

With the chaos surrounding the nationwide boxing federation, Vijender Singh’s transfer to the skilled circuit and Mary Kom lacking out on the Video games, Indian boxing appeared on its manner down after 2016 however come the Tokyo Video games, due to the emergence of a brand new batch of younger boxers and a few stability within the nationwide federation, India will area its biggest-ever contingent of 9 boxers.

5 male boxers and 4 feminine boxers – all of whom who’ve received medals on the worldwide stage will purpose so as to add to India’s tally of two medals within the self-discipline on the Olympics.

India received a complete of six medals throughout the final males’s and ladies’s world championships. 5 of these medallists are a part of the workforce in Tokyo and can look to match and even higher the outcomes on the Olympics.

Right here’s an in depth have a look at each Indian boxer on the Video games and what are their prospects in Tokyo

Amit Panghal (Males’s Flyweight, 52kg)

World Rating: 1st

Strengths and Weaknesses: Panghal has a pleasant mixture of managed aggression and tactical acumen. Being a southpaw, he makes it fairly uncomfortable for orthodox opponents to face him. Having moved to the 52kg class, he has confronted quite a lot of tall boxers for which he has been engaged on his attain and energy, points which he feels he has efficiently labored on within the final yr.

“Amit may be very sturdy in long-range. That’s the place he can discover quite a lot of pleasure along with his punches. So the recommendation from us for him to at all times attempt to play in long-range. As soon as he’s in short-range, it’s necessary for him to maneuver with a purpose to higher defend himself,” Indian boxing head coach CA Kutappa informed Scroll.in.

Panghal generally is a sluggish starter at instances, a side that he must work to enhance if he’s to win gold in Tokyo.

Primary opponents: World No 2 within the Flyweight class, Shakhobidin Zoirov has been Panghal’s nemesis beating him within the 2019 World Championship remaining. The Indian has misplaced all three bouts towards the Uzbek boxer and he should overcome the psychological hurdle to achieve Tokyo.

“Previous outcomes do have a bearing however generally it’s only a byproduct of type. Zoirov was most likely in higher type then however I really feel Amit is in higher form now. In boxing, you’ll be able to’t predict something however I sense, Amit is mentally sturdy to deal with this problem and this time will probably be a special struggle,” former nationwide coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu informed Scroll.in.

Schedule:

July 26 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 31 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Ultimate

Manish Kaushik (Males’s Light-weight, 63kg)

World Rating: sixth

Strengths and Weaknesses: The postponement of the Olympics has been of nice assist for Manish who was capable of recuperate from a bicep harm that had saved him out of motion for ten months. Hailing from Bhiwani, Manish grew up watching the exploits of Vijender Singh and would like to emulate his feat in Tokyo.

Like Panghal, Manish’s strengths too lie in enjoying in lengthy vary.

“Manish is a wonderful long-range boxer and like Amit we wish him to play to his strengths. When in shut vary, he tends to carry however we now have been engaged on his motion and there was quite a lot of enchancment which makes us optimistic,” Kutappa mentioned.

Manish has additionally labored on his total stamina which was a little bit of an space of concern and improved his punch energy forward of the Video games.

Primary opponents: Cuba’s Andy Cruz, the defending world champion and World No 1, USA’s Keshawn Davis and Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov are fairly sturdy contenders for the medals. Manish had misplaced to Cruz through a unanimous 5-0 verdict on this planet championship semi-finals. Ending on the rostrum will thus be an enormous ask for the Indian who will as soon as once more should defy odds and get the higher of loads of boxers in and round him on this planet rankings.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 31 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 6 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Ultimate

Vikas Krishan Yadav (Males’s Welterweight, 69kg)

World Rating: NA

Strengths and Weaknesses: A two-time Olympian and among the many most adorned boxers of all time in India, Vikas is the veteran within the contingent. The 29-year-old personifies tact in boxing. He likes to plan his each transfer and most instances, he executes them to perfection.

Set to compete in his third and remaining Olympics and has ironed out some main chinks in his armour – stability within the ring, shut vary boxing and the jab. He says his jab is now almost excellent. With a great deal of expertise, Vikas is able to outsmarting any opponent on the day.

“Vikas is excellent in lengthy and medium vary. His issues had been in physique stability which he has labored on fairly properly in latest weeks,” Kutappa mentioned.

One other southpaw, Vikas is more likely to be at his perfect in Tokyo having realized new tips since becoming a member of the skilled circuit.

Primary opponents: The welterweight class may be very aggressive with Nice Britain’s Pat McCormack, Russia Andrei Zamkovoi, Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias, Uzbekistan’s Bobo-Usman Baturov being fairly dominant. Nevertheless, eighth-ranked Ablaikhan Zhussupov claimed bronze on the 2019 world championships which present how powerful the competitors is.

Schedule:

July 24 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 27 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
July 30 (AM & PM): QF
August 1 (AM & PM): SF
August 3 (PM): Ultimate

Ashish Kumar (Males’s Middleweight, 75kg)

World Rating: thirteenth

Strengths and Weaknesses: Medallist at consecutive Asian championships, Ashish has made regular progress in his class. His preparation this yr was hampered after contracting Covid-19. He misplaced his father a month earlier than he certified for the Olympics however has proven nice character in battling adversities off the ring whereas nonetheless sustaining the extent of performances on it.

Ashish has struggled along with his punch accuracy, a side that he has been working onerous on.

“Ashish misses quite a lot of punches. We’ve got been engaged on his accuracy and tried to get him to land his blows on the physique and chest. The outcomes have been nice and in Italy, he was touchdown a lot of the blows heading in the right direction which is an enormous plus,” Kutappa mentioned.

Primary opponents: Ashish is an outsider in terms of medal competition and will probably be an enormous achievement if he may make the minimize at quarter-finals.

Schedule:

July 26 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Ultimate

Satish Kumar (Males’s Tremendous Heavyweight, +91kg)

World Rating: 23

Strengths and Weaknesses: The primary tremendous heavyweight to qualify for the Video games however the one about whom not many are speaking about. His rating suggests he’s an outsider however he has additionally been out of motion for a very long time and his final competitors was earlier than the pandemic. Whereas it might be problematic for the boxer, he has used the time without work to enhance his abilities.

Tempo is a side wherein he hopes to be a step forward of the remaining as heavier weight divisions usually are not notably quick-moving within the ring. He additionally has one of many strongest punches within the class.

“Nobody within the tremendous heavy class produces as many punches as Satish. It’s an enormous plus for him. We’ve got additionally labored on his motion as boxers in that weight class don’t transfer so much so it may be a bonus for him,” Kutappa mentioned.

Primary opponents: Satish’s medal prospects are fairly bleak given his rating. Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov and Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev are very sturdy on this class and so his finest hopes of even bobbing up a shock are restricted to a bronze medal at finest.

Schedule:

July 24 (PM): Spherical of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Ultimate

Mary Kom (Ladies’s Flyweight, 51kg)

World Rating: third

Strengths and Weaknesses: Mary Kom is among the many best ladies boxers ever with six gold medals on the World Championships. Nevertheless, the yellow metallic has evaded her on the Olympics. Enjoying her final Video games, Mary Kom is set than ever to win gold and seal her standing as the best ever within the sport.

“Recollections (of the 2012 bronze) don’t make me nostalgic. They make me extra decided and resolved in my purpose and need to win gold on the Olympics in Tokyo. I’ll give it my finest shot,” Mary Kom was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Among the many sharpest movers within the ring on the peak of her prowess, Mary Kom is, nonetheless, candid sufficient to confess that she has slowed down however to make up for that, she has labored on including extra muscle and thereby extra energy to her punches. It stays to be seen how she handles the youthful competitors which awaits her on the Video games.

Psychological energy is Mary Kom’s greatest asset and she’s going to as soon as once more financial institution on it to presumably pull off one other miracle in Rio.

Primary opponents: Turkey’s Businaz Cakiroglu who beat Mary Kom within the 2019 World Championships semi-final can also be a strong opponent. Defending world champion Lilya Aetbaeva of Russia is ranked beneath Mary Kom in fourth place however shall be within the combine in Tokyo. USA’s Virginia Fuchs, a bronze medallist on the 2018 Worlds will even pose a problem for Mary Kom.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Ultimate

Simranjit Kaur (Ladies’s Light-weight, 60kg)

World Rating: sixth

Strengths and Weaknesses: Aggression is Simranjit’s greatest asset with an imposing body and her punches have hard-to-miss energy however she want to be a bit extra in management when up towards dogged defenders, who’re good at profiting from her pure instincts to launch into an offensive.

Her world championship medal in 2018 got here within the 64kg weight class and since dropping to the 60kg class, she has received medals in consecutive Asian Championships.

How Simranjeet Kaur dropped a weight category and punched her way to the Olympics

Primary opponents: The Light-weight class is among the fiercely contested ones with 4 boxers having over a 1000 ranking factors. Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira, Finland’s Mira Potkonen, Eire’s Kerrie Harrington, USA’s Rashid Ellis and China’s Cong Wang are the principle contenders for the medal. Simranjit is thus an outsider within the medal race but when she will put her finest foot ahead, it’s not past her.

Schedule:

July 27 (AM & PM): Spherical of 32
July 30 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Ultimate

Lovlina Borgohain (Ladies’s Welterweight, 69kg)

World Rating: third

Strengths and Weaknesses: The youngest within the Tokyo-bound ladies’s boxing workforce is a low-profile, high-performing asset. Thought-about a technically sound boxer, it might be attention-grabbing to see how she responds to the stress of being on the greatest sporting present.

Nevertheless, with back-to-back medals at World Championships, Lovlina has proven that she will deal with the large stage. Her rating will even carry expectations and it’ll largely rely upon how she copes with it. She is just about an entire boxer and is amongst India’s main medal hopefuls within the self-discipline.

Primary opponents: Turkey’s World No 1 Busenaz Surmeneli, Chinese language Taipei’s Nien Chin Chen, China’s Hong Gu and Yang Lui, Germany’s Nadine Apetz and Canada’s Myriam Da Silva are the strongest contenders within the ladies’s welterweight class. Lovlina misplaced to Chen within the 2018 Worlds semi-final and China’s Yang Lui within the 2019 last-four conflict.

Schedule:

July 24 (AM): Spherical of 32
July 27 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
July 30 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Ultimate

Pooja Rani (Ladies’s Middleweight, 75kg)

World Rating: NA

Strengths and Weaknesses: Pooja Rani’s profession appeared to be over when she suffered a career-threatening shoulder harm, however the Bhiwani boxer fought again to guide a ticket to Tokyo. Wealthy with expertise, Pooja Rani’s greatest asset is her psychological energy that has seen overcome a collection of difficulties to make it to the Olympics on the age of 30.

Adapting to the opponents is one among Pooja’s strengths she has developed through the years and it may come useful within the 75kg class which shall be new for her. The gold medal on the Asian Championships proved she is in good condition bodily and mentally.

Indian boxing: Pooja Rani on her Olympic dreams, Covid-19 and the importance of self belief

Primary Opponents: It’s onerous to guage Pooja’s medal prospects. She will certainly not be a favorite to complete on the rostrum regardless of her Asian championship medal because the strongest competitors on this class comes from outdoors Asia.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM): Spherical of 32
July 28 (AM & PM): Spherical of 16
Jul 31 (AM & PM): QF
August 6 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Ultimate

Prediction

“It’s troublesome to precisely name a quantity, however figuring out the qualities and the characters of the Indian boxers, I’ve a sense that Tokyo will carry a document haul for Indian boxing. I additionally really feel that the color of the medals will even be completely different.”

Gurbax Singh Sandhu, former nationwide boxing coach

(With PTI inputs)