The International Boxing Association has allowed India's youth pugilists to compete in a tournament in Azerbaijan but has barred the officials from accompanying the boys, insisting that it does not recognize the Secretary General or any other office-bearer of the suspended federation.
Boxers reached Amman from Assisi on February 27 and were found all clear after undergoing the mandatory screening for symptoms. Jordan has so far recorded only one positive case.
Vijender, who is promoted by IOS Boxing Promotions, is the reigning WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight champion and is expected to defend his title for a second time next month after the IPL.
Asian Games gold-medal winning boxer Dingko Singh has revealed that he went into depression as he was unable to travel to New Delhi for his cancer treatment due to the nationwide lockdown. Dingko Singh was on Saturday airlifted from Imphal to the national capital for his liver cancer treatment.
Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group
A brace by midfielder N P Pradeep helped India hold Chinese Taipei 2-2 in their second and final football friendly tie against in Chennai on Tuesday. In the first friendly in Goa on Saturday, India had defeated the visitors 3-0.
The money-spinning Indian Premier League has mulled a closed-door edition in a desperate bid to avoid cancellation as the deadly COVID-19 sent Indian sports into quarantine after a government directive for fans to be kept away from all action to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) qualified for Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the semi-final with a comfortable win over Philippines' Irish Magno, at the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers in Amman, on Monday. World number one Amit Panghal (52kg) qualified for his maiden Olympic Games, while Manish Kaushik (63kg) remained in the hunt for a Tokyo ticket despite losing his quarter-final bout.
Neeraj Chauhan was driven into penury as the novel coronavirus had begun to spread its ugly tentacles
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Veteran boxer Sarita Devi, who is currently serving a provisional suspension, has found support from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar who has written a letter to the Sports Minister urging him to support her and ensure that her career is not terminated prematurely.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has promised "surgical" precision in distribution of funds to athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games, asserting that centralisation of the process has made bureaucratic hurdles a thing of past.
In a first for women's boxing in India, former world champion and Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi has decided to turn professional but will not give up on the amateur circuit either if the Boxing Federation of India allows her. The 31-year-old multiple-time Asian champion decided to take the plunge by signing up a two-year deal with the commercial partners of Indian Boxing Council (IBC) - a licensing body for professional boxers in the country -- Sporty Boxing Private Limited.
Defender Jerry Lalrinzuala scored a spectacular long range goal as India beat Nepal 1-0 in the final to win the South Asian Football Federation Under-16 Championship at the Dasharath stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
In a bout which had very few clear punches, Mary Kom prevailed 9-1 to make the squad
'All I am saying is just give me a chance. It is my dream to compete in the Olympics too.'
'I am not saying let me go to the Olympics. I am asking for a fair chance for a trial.'
'All these years I have been training for what? What is the point if I cannot compete?'
Six-time World champion M C Mary Kom on Tuesday explained the nuances of injury-management to fellow boxers in an online education programme of the Boxing Federation of India. Mary Kom was joined by the Indian teams' doctors and physiotherapists during the session that was watched by close to 300 participants, the BFI said in a press release.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
A resolute Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the finals with impressive victories but the legendary M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) settled for bronze medals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers, in Amman, on Tuesday. Also ending with bronze medals were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). All the six boxers have already secured their tickets to the Olympic Games by making the semi-finals but Krishan and Kaur will come back with at least silver medals after entering the finals.
A top official from the national federation of a prominent Olympic sport asked if Batra would deem the competition good enough if shooting is brought back into the CWG fold.
Concerned about the administrative logjam in Indian boxing, Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom said future seems dark for the country's pugilists, who are losing motivation to train.
Renedy appealed to everyone to come forward and ensure that the northeastern state does not face the same trouble as the country's metro cities witnessed.
A narrow 1-0 win was not enough for a desperate Mumbai City FC who were knocked out by FC Goa 5-2 on aggregate in the Hero Indian Super League semi-final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Margao, on Tuesday.
Talking extensively to Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi before flying out for the Asian Games, Mary gets candid about the life-changing Bollywood biopic Mary Kom, missing out on the Commonweath Games berth, her fight with the Sports Authority of India and what drives her to be the best inside the squared rope.
In its 19-page Standard Operating Procedure for resumption of training as well as competitions, the Boxing Federation of India has mandated health protocols similar to what the Sports Authority of India has suggested.
Vikash Malik (60kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) joined Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) in the quarter-finals, on Tuesday, making it one better than the previous best India achieved in the 2011 edition in Azerbaijan.
The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be hit by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people across the world.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The fear of COVID-19 pandemic has made way for a fierce desire to compete in star Indian boxer M C Mary Kom's mind as she gears up for her first tournament in a year next week, having recovered from the muscle loss triggered by a recent bout of dengue.
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday announced a cash award of Rs 6.70 lakh for all the gold medal winners at the recently concluded Youth Women's World Boxing Championships in Guwahati.
Poor finishing and scrappy defending put paid to India's quest for an eighth South Asian Football Federation Cup title as it suffered a 1-2 defeat against Maldives in the summit clash, in Dhaka, on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Mary Kom (51kg) claimed her eighth world medal at the recently-concluded championships in Russia. She was selected for the event ahead of Zareen, who was refused a trial by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), which decided to go by Mary Kom's consistent performances while making the choice.
There was ecstasy and agony in equal measure for the Indian contingent on Friday.
Asian Games gold-winning boxer Dingko Singh was on Saturday airlifted from Imphal to New Delhi for his cancer treatment. Dingko's transfer to Delhi by a SpiceJet air ambulance was facilitated by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) after he missed a scheduled radiation therapy session due to the ongoing coronavirus-forced national lockdown.
Seven Olympic and six Paralympic disciplines were identified for support at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell.
Sports minister Kiren Rijiju, following an online interaction with the Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh and the boxers, including Mary Kom, on Sunday said all necessary precautions will be put in place before sparring can commence again.
'Sarita is the most abused and unsupported Indian boxer of all time.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday