Indian women’s boxing coach Mohammed Ali Qamar feels exposure to international tournaments has contributed to the rise of Indian boxing in the last few years.
“Now, the young boxers are exposed to international tournaments and they are performing well in the tournaments,” said Qamar, India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medallist in boxing. “Therefore, many boxers have risen in India in the last few years because of the exposure.”
Qamar said that the Indian management is hoping that more boxers will book their spots at the Tokyo Games.
“We are hoping for many Indian boxers to book their spots in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We have performed well in the World Championships and Asian Championships, so we are hoping for a good performance at the Olympics this year,” Qamar said.
The third edition of the Khelo India Youth Games will be held from January 10 to 22 in Guwahati. The former India international said: “The Khelo India Youth Games is a great platform. All the athletes, who are U-21 and have not played in nationals, have a chance to showcase their skills in the Khelo India Youth Games. If they perform well in this competition then they have a chance to play in the senior circuit.”
Explaining how a potential boxer is spotted in India, Qamar said that the management looks at how a young boxer tackles a senior player in competitions such as the nationals.
“We look at how young athletes take on the senior players in a tournament like nationals. We see the margin of the scoreline and how the young player tackled in the bout against a senior boxer. If a young player can tackle well against a senior boxer then we realise that the young player has potential,” Qamar said.