The rousing success may lead one into believing that India has well and truly arrived as a boxing powerhouse, and while that may hold some merit in the women’s field, the results from the men’s division ought to be looked at a little more closely and dispassionately. The tournament that is purportedly meant for top-8 boxers of the world struggled to fill up the entries.
Out of possible 80 participants, 65 turned up for men — the number was little over 40 among women — with only two only two weight classes among men (70kg, 90kg) getting full representation. Hitesh Gulia (70kg) and Sachin Siwach (60kg) were the only male gold medallists from India and most of the final bouts served a crude reminder to Indian men who have had scant success of late.
India fielded their first-choice team in the competition while powerhouses such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan decided to test their bench. The losses of Jadumani Singh (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) were instructive. Despite fighting with commendable spirit, the trio fell short on skills and speed.
“Our boxers are still a work in progress. They need to work on their strength and power; it is an ongoing development and we will have results in due course,” Dharmendra Singh Yadav, chief coach of India’s men’s team, reasoned. “Uzbeks and Kazakhs, especially in higher weights, offer a very tough challenge. Men’s boxing at the Asian level is very competitive. We are a team in transition and the boys will certainly deliver at bigger multi-discipline events,” he added.
The talent, coaches say, is in short supply and there’s a growing need for junior and basic coaches to get acquainted with newer styles and methods.
“Coaching the coaches is a major area where we lack. Our basic coaches need to revisit their foundations. Strength and stamina can be built anytime, but if a boxer has faulty basics, it’s highly likely for them to fizzle out after the age-group stage. That’s why a lot of our young boxers are not able to make a successful transition to the senior level,” said Jitender Raj Singh, head coach at NIS Patiala.
The dip in India’s male boxers have been years in making. After fielding five male boxers at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, only two — Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev — could make the cut for the Paris Games. Both have since moved on to pursue pro careers. At this year’s World Championships in Liverpool, India had representation in all ten weight classes but no one could proceed beyond the quarter-finals. The women’s team returned with four medals.
“Technically, we are not all that bad. The biggest differentiator is power. In women’s field, the difference is not that stark but it is quite glaring among men. Jadumani, Abhimash and Ankush (80kg) are our next big hopes,” a senior coach who didn’t wish to be named, said.
“We should look to train junior and senior boxers together. That way, we can pass on a few things to junior coaches,” the coach added.
BFI, meanwhile, chooses to look at the positives. “Until recently, we rarely saw Indian men in the finals of international championships. Now at least they’re reaching the finals. We have clear plans for the men’s side. The men are raising their level, and we will now do much more intensive strength and conditioning and training over the next few months. We still have time before the Asian Championships and then the Commonwealth and Asian Games. We expect them to improve,” BFI president Ajay Singh said.
