Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: Surge of COVID-19 put a lot of troubles to the organizers who are busy preparing their team for the forthcoming Olympics. In a conversation with The Sentinel the secretary general of the Boxing Federation of India, Hemanta Kumar Kalita admitted that though the surge of COVID created a lot of difficulties, yet they are trying their best to keep all the boxers fit for the tournament. Here is the excerpt.
The Sentinel (TS): Surge of COVID has perhaps brought a huge impact on your team's preparations for Olympics…
Kalita: I agree. Nine of our boxers have booked their berths in the Olympics and several of them have a good chance to win medals in Tokyo. We have arranged the best training facilities for our boxers who will compete in the forthcoming Olympics. But the surge of COVID-19 has really brought a lot of troubles not only for us but for all the participants who will travel to Tokyo for the Olympics.
TS: What about the precautionary measures taken by the Boxing Federation of India?
Kalita: We are following government SOP in toto. At the same time, we are also taking some extra measures, like creating bio-bubble, so that we can prevent the boxers from getting infected.
TS: There is news that the size of the contingent of each discipline should be very small this time…
Kalita: Yes. It's right. Nine of our boxers have qualified for the Olympics, and we have learnt that only 3 to 4 support staff, including the coach, would be allowed to accompany them. The numbers are too small keeping in mind the size of our contingent. We are in touch with the Indian Olympic Association.
TS: What can we expect from the boxers in Tokyo?
Kalita: We are optimistic that the boxers would return with a good haul of medals from Tokyo. I don't want to take the name of any boxers but based on their present form we have a very good chance to win at least five to six medals from the ring in Tokyo.
TS: May Kom, perhaps will be the oldest member in Indian contingent in Tokyo…
Kalita: She is in tremendous form and the boxer is one of our medal hopes. What we like in Mary is her focus on the game. It remains the same as it was during her early days.
TS: Girl boxers made magnificent performances in AIBA Youth World Championships in Kielce, Poland...
Kalita: We are really happy with the performance of Indian boxers. Girls' team created a new record in the competition and also bagged top spot. In 2017 we hosted the event in Guwahati, and our women boxers won five gold medals in the tournament which was our best performance till date. But the record was erased this time. We have collected eight gold medals from Poland and seven of them were won by our female boxers. It is proved that we are on the right track.