NEW DELHI: The Indian boxing contingent, with the exception of Amit Panghal, the gold medallist from the Commonwealth Games, is set to embark on a month-long training camp in Germany starting from June 28.
This training stint is aimed at preparing the boxers for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken, Germany, will host the Indian boxers, including Nikhat Zareen (50kg), the reigning world champion, and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), who clinched a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. They will be training alongside national teams from various countries such as Ireland, USA, Mongolia, Germany, and Denmark.
Nishant Dev (71Kg), who secured a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships, along with Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), will also be part of the training camp.
Meanwhile, Panghal (51kg) will continue his training at the Sports Authority of India's Shilaroo centre, where he will be accompanied by his coaches and support staff from the national camp. He is scheduled to join the rest of the team in France at a later stage.
"The training camp in Saarbrucken will not just provide the Indian contingent an opportunity to spar with quality boxers from different countries, it will also help them acclimatise well before the Games as the weather conditions in Germany are similar to the ones they will encounter in Paris," PTI quoted Hemanta Kumar Kalita, secretary general, Boxing Federation of India as saying in a release.
Six Indian boxers, comprising four female and two male athletes, have secured their spots in the upcoming Olympic Games. The majority of these pugilists, five in total, will undergo training in Germany until July 22 before making their way to Paris for the highly anticipated event.
Vijender Singh made history by clinching India's first Olympic boxing medal, a bronze, in Beijing back in 2008. The iconic MC Mary Kom further added to the nation's tally with another bronze medal in the 2012 London Games.
Among the current contingent, Lovlina is on a mission to etch her name in the record books. She aims to become only the third Indian boxer, and the second woman from the country, to achieve the remarkable feat of winning consecutive Olympic medals, following her bronze medal triumph in Tokyo.
