Indian boxers, including Nitu Ghanghas and Preeti Pawar, have secured 19 medals at the Boxam Elite International tournament in La Nucia, Spain, with strong performances from both the men's and women's teams.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen will lead the Indian contingent at the Asian Boxing Championships in Mongolia.
Lovlina, Arundhati lead as India claim nine gold medals in BOXAM Elite 2026
Following his earlier stint with India, he most recently served as National Head Coach and Technical Lead of Boxing Australia's High Performance Unit.
The change at the helm comes in the wake of an underwhelming couple of years for Indian men's boxing.
The year began on an unusually dull note with boxers absent from most international competition in the aftermath of a medal-less Olympic campaign.
He joins ahead of a demanding 2026 season packed with major events, including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. One of the first things on his agenda will be "tackling" the selection policy.
Expectations were high from Paris and observers of the game felt at least one, if not two medals, could be expected from the six boxers who qualified.
SAI said the decision was taken to ensure that athletes bound for Tokyo Games, postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have continuity in their training.
Anamika, the reigning national champion, lost by a 1-4 split verdict against China's Hu Meiyi in the lightweight final.
'He didn't have the strength to move and so he stayed inside and then he didn't have the strength to respond also, and he became passive and there the Colombian scored a lot of points.'
Varinder had to pull out of his 60kg category bout due to high fever but he tested negative for COVID-19.
India's Ashish Chaudhary was beaten 0-5 by China's Erbieke Touheta in the men's 75kg category boxing at the Tokyo Olympics, on Monday.
India protests Chahar's loss but appeal rejected.
Panghal and Kaushik have entered the semi-finals at the Worlds, making it the first time when India have more than one boxer in fray for the medal rounds of the marquee event.
Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (69kg) was out-punched 0-5 and left with a bloodied eye by local favourite Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa as he bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Four-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa became India's first gold-medallist at the President's Cup boxing tournament after getting a walkover in the final.
They showed big hearts. They were unfazed by the stature of their rivals and that's what is very important. You respect your rival but don't get intimidated by his CV, says India's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva.
Talking of the crisis and its impact on sports, Nieva said things would never be the same again but asserted that people will not give up on live sports either.
The Indian men's boxing team's final campaign at the 35th Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain was derailed by a positive COVID-19 case in the side, resulting in three withdrawals from the summit clashes.
Mary Kom was supposed to be in a 14-day quarantine but she broke the protocol when she attended the breakfast hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind
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.
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.
The deadly COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented postponement as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government and the athletes world over agreed that Olympics in July-August this year could not have gone ahead in the present circumstances.
In a conference call with these boxers on Sunday, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh took stock of their preparations amid a national lockdown till April 14 to fight the pandemic.
India had delivered its best ever Asian Championship performance in the 2019 edition in Thailand, claiming 13 medals, including two gold, four silver and seven bronze.
All of the boxers have been training at their respective homes ever since the nationals camps came to a halt in mid-March owing to the virus outbreak
Sarjubala, competing in the flyweight 51kg category, defeated Tajikistan's Madina Ghaforova 5-0 in a bout which was more gruelling than what the score-line suggests.
India Amit Panghal (52kg) bowed out of the Olympics boxing after a surprising 1-4 defeat to Rio Games silver-medallist Yuberjen Martinez in the pre-quarter-finals, on Saturday.
Eight men and five women from India will be aiming to secure Tokyo Olympics berths at the continental event being conducted by the International Olympic Committee's Boxing Task Force. The Indian hopes will be spearheaded by Panghal and Mary Kom, both proven and consistent performers on the big stage.
Indian boxers training in Italy for next month's Olympic qualifiers were given the option of flying out early due to the novel Coronavirus threat in that country but the team has decided to stay put as its training base in Assisi is "far" from the epicentre of the outbreak.
Nieva said boxers in all the five Olympic categories for women will be picked after selection bouts over two days.
India's nine Olympic-bound boxers will travel abroad for a three-week training stint after getting a few days' break following a record-shattering medal haul by the country's pugilists at the recently-concluded Asian Championships in Dubai.
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.
Boxer Vikas Krishan prefers US Pro bouts to National camp in Patiala
Mary Kom lets it rip after winning trial bout against Nikhat Zareen
The 41-year-old, who is a member of the European Boxing Confederation's coaches commission, will be joining the boxers in the first week of June.
Thirteen of the country's boxers -- seven men and six women -- are assured of at least bronze medals after advancing to the last-four stage of the marquee continental championship.
'We have spoken to all the foreign coaches and they have assured us that they are all committed to their jobs till Tokyo Games'
India's boxers are headed in the right direction and will do something big at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, reckons High Performance Director Santiago Nieva.
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