Aussie boxers want exchange programme with us: Sandhu

The Indian boxers' superlative show in the just-concluded Doha International Tournament was not without its flaws, says national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, but it was awe-inspiring enough for the Australian contingent to request an exchange programme with the country's pugilists

New Delhi: The Indian boxers' superlative show in the just-concluded Doha International Tournament was not without its flaws, says national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, but it was awe-inspiring enough for the Australian contingent to request an exchange programme with the country's pugilists.


Gurbax Singh Sandhu 

The Indians notched up four gold, one silver and two bronze medals to finish on top in the tournament, which was a test event for the October World Championships — an Olympic qualifying event.

Commonwealth Games medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Manish Kaushik (60kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) won the gold medals. The silver medal went to Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg), while Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) settled for bronze medals in the 12-team competition.

"It was a good performance. but there were some flaws, like some of our boxers were tiring too soon. It's because we've not had many international competitions recently. However, the flaws will be worked upon in the camp.

The Australians were so impressed by us that they have requested that they be allowed to train in India for some time and in turn, they want to invite us there for training-cum-competition," Sandhu revealed yesterday.

Sandhu said the team's performance could've been better had it got more exposure and the plan now is to go for as many tough tournaments as possible before the World Championships.

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