New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): Even before its boxers enter the ring, India is assured of a whopping 21 medals in the Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships for men and women in Dubai after many pugilists failed to participate in the event because of Covid-related travel restrictions.
As per the draw, among the 21 in the medal rounds, nine have directly made it to the finals.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has fielded a strong contingent at the prestigious ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships. It will be the first time that the two age groups - the junior and the youth - will be playing together at the Asian Championships.
The youth men's and women's teams will comprise of 13 and 12 players respectively as the upcoming event will be played as per the AIBA's newly-introduced weight classifications. However, 26 boxers, with an equal number of boys and girls, will take part in the junior events.
The 2019 Asian Schoolboy Championships gold medallist Yashwardhan Singh (60kg), Rohit Chamoli (48kg), Usman Mohd Sultan (50kg), Anshul (57 kg), Preet Malik (63 kg), Ankush (66kg), Gaurav Saini (70kg), Naksh Beniwal (75kg) and Rishab Singh (81kg) will lead the Indian challenge in the junior boys category on the opening day of the competition on Friday.
The 2021 Youth World Championships bronze medalist Bishwamitra Chongathm (51kg) will spearhead the youth men's team while Uttarakhand's Nivedita Karki (48kg), who grabbed many eyeballs after stunning the world champion Gitika to win gold at the Nationals, will lead the Indian attack in the women's section.
The Asian Championships will provide the much-needed competitive tournament to the promising young talents at the Asian level after a gap of almost two years lost due to pandemic.
The gold medalists in the youth age group will receive prize money of USD 6,000 each while silver and bronze medalists will claim USD 3,000 and USD 1,500 respectively. However, the junior champions will be awarded USD 4,000 and, USD 2,000 and 1,000 for silver and bronze medallists respectively.
The continental event will witness some thrilling action due to the presence of pugilists from strong boxing nations like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.