Boxers head to Italy for training ahead of Olympics
Eight of India's nine Olympic-bound boxers, along with a few sparring partners, will leave for Italy early Saturday morning for a training camp as they gear up for the Tokyo Games from July 23 to August 8.
Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), as reported by PTI earlier, has decided to base herself in Pune's Army Sports Institute till the Games.
Five Olympic-bound men -- Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Chaudhary (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg) -- will be joined by the likes of five-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63kg) and Strandja Memorial silver-winner former Deepak Kumar (52kg) during the stint.
"Some sparring partners we are taking from here. There will be only training no competition during this trip," Indian men's boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva told PTI.
The team will be based in Assisi till July 10 before coming back to the country and eventually heading off to Tokyo at least a week ahead of the Games.
The women boxers other than Mary Kom, who have made the cut for Tokyo are Simranjit kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), and Pooja Rani (75kg).
The boxers are being seen as one of India's strongest bets for Olympic medals.
