Asian Boxing Championships get under way today in Dubai

Asian Boxing Championships get under way today in Dubai. India were already assured of medals after seven women entered the semifinals when draws were unveiled yesterday.

 

Due to the small size of their respective draws, Indian pugilists  MC Mary Kom, Pooja Rani, Anupama, Saweety, Lovlina Borgohain, Lalbuatsaihi, and Monika made to the last-four stage.

 

Mohammad Hussamuddin, Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan will begin their campaign for India on the opening day today. A total of six Indian male boxers, including defending champion Amit Panghal, Varinder Singh, Vikas Krishan, Ashish Kumar, Sanjeet and Narender got first-round byes into



quarterfinals.

 

In all, 19 Indian boxers nine men and 10 women will stake their claim for the top honours.  A total of 27 countries were  expected to participate but that shrunk to 17 yesterday due to COVID-forced travel restrictions. The total women's participation in this edition is 47 boxers across 10 weight categories.

 

The tournament was initially scheduled in New Delhi but was shifted to Dubai due to travel restrictions. The event is jointly hosted by Boxing Federation of India and UAE Boxing Federation. This time, the International Boxing Association has also announced a prize fund of 4 lakh US dollar for the event.