CHENNAI: Motivation, inspiration and confidence-building were the motives that drove the Boxing Federation of India to assemble 50-odd boxers, officials, coaches and support staff for a video-conference on Monday. All the boxers who qualified for Olympics (nine as of now), and pugilists from those weight categories still seeking qualification, coaches of men’s and women’s teams as well as high-performance directors attended the meeting. The meeting headed by BFI president Ajay Singh discussed ways to maintain motivation levels.
The president spoke to the boxers and assured help to stay fit and mentally focussed. RK Sacheti, the executive director of the BFI, told this daily it was a review meeting as the president wanted to know the progress of boxers through the online programme. “These are extraordinary times,” said Sacheti. “The meeting was aimed at building confidence. It is not just for the athletes but everyone associated with the sport. Since there is little to no activity taking place outdoors, we have to keep motivating our players and coaches every now and then.” “We also reviewed how our online programmes are working,” said Sacheti. “We need to work out different strategies at these times.” The federation is keeping a close watch on the fitness of the boxers.
Their primary concern is maintaining weight which could be difficult now. The federation took feedback from boxers and coaches on their fitness. The medical staff worked online through video-conferencing on the rehabilitation programme of boxers who are recovering. Since the federation needed to submit Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) to the sports ministry soon after the lockdown ends, the BFI discussed this with all concerned.
“The domestic season needs to be redrawn and calendar finalised accordingly. We will do that once there is more clarity on how and when the lockdown ends,” said Sacheti. The federation believes it will take around two-three months for the boxers to get back into shape. The officials also discussed the men’s and women’s Asian Boxing Championships, allotted to India, which is expected to be held later this year. “We discussed it but a date and venue will be finalised in consultation with the ministry,” he said. Since there’s a lockdown on, the BFI didn’t want to speculate. “We were intending to conduct the meet by end of the year around November-December,” said Sacheti.