Paris Olympics are nearly at the door as Indian athletes look to bring glory to the nation. India has sent a strong contingent of 117 athletes for the Olympics, which will officially get underway from July 26.
The eyes will be pinned on the Indian boxing contingent too which has several athletes who are likely to bring a medal home. There are six boxers taking part from India at the Games - four female and two male.
Ahead of the Olympic Games, India TV reached out to Arjuna Awardee former boxer Akhil Kumar. The 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil shed light on the Indian pugilists. He said that all the six boxers going to the Summer Games are strong and medals are expected of them.
He also spoke on reigning World Champions Lovlona Borgohain and Nikhat Zareen. Lovlina, the 69kg Bronze medallist of the Tokyo Olympics is eyeing to become the first Indian boxer with two medals in Paris.
Akhil knows she has a chance to do something special and so has Nikhat, the two-time world champion. "Lovlina has a chance of a double medal (of creating history). This has to be done if she has to stand out from the rest," he told India TV's Sports Editor Samip Rajguru.
"Nikhat Zareen has a chance to win a medal too. It is very important for a boxer to have a good IQ. Nikhat has been strong and she has been a champion. She has won a medal at every event she has played. So are Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev. Nishant plays thoughtfully and patiently," he added.
Lovlina is among the only three Indian boxers with an Olympic medal. The other two in this elite list are Vijender Singh and Mary Kom. But none of the other pugilists have more than one medal, which Lovlina stands a chance for.
She was the only medallist in boxing in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Lovlina won that bronze in 69kg and has now shifted her weight category to 75kg. She won the Gold medal at the World Championships in this category last year.
Watch the Interview here:
