Ever since Beijing Olympics medallist Vijender Singh won India’s first medal in boxing, expectations are high every time an Indian boxer waltzes into the ring at any of the World Championships. The bar has been raised, and India has consistently won medals in the prestigious event. Though the high of the women — they finished with four gold at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi — could not be matched, men, too, created history by winning three medals in a single edition of the marquee event for the first time in Tashkent last week. Though a final finish by any of the boxers — Mohammad Hussamuddin, Deepak Bhoria and Nishant Dev — would have raised the bar much higher, three bronze medals can be considered credible, especially given the current climes. In sports where India has medalled in the Olympics, the athletes have had a difficult run this year.
PV Sindhu and the other singles bunch continue to toil without success. Making an early exit from the ongoing Sudirman Cup on Monday clearly shows their dwindling form. Even Olympic medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu had a subdued show at the recently held Asian Championships in South Korea, where she finished sixth. The wrestlers’ future remains uncertain, with the protest against the sidelined Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh still on. The Paris Olympics is just over a year away, and this definitely does not augur well. Amid these testing times, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra’s top finish at the season’s first Diamond League was a welcome relief.
Coming back to boxing, this is a positive start to the season. But the boxers had their share of uncertainty early on. They struggled to get a chief coach until CA Kuttappa was re-appointed. Boxing India took an eternity to appoint Ireland’s Bernard Dunne as high-performance director after Santiago Nieva’s exit. There was furore over a selection policy that did not care much about performance in nationals but depended more on form — it had to be withdrawn after the matter landed in court. The Asian Games in September is set to be the Olympics’ qualifying event, and there is no time to waste. Boxing India must return to the drawing board and make plans to ensure maximum qualification for the Paris Games.