Shiv Thapa couldn’t hide his relief at the Asian Games boxing venue on Wednesday. Not because he’d been awarded a walkover in his first bout — dodging punches wasn’t the issue. He was relieved just to have a coach in his corner during competition.
For Thapa and the 12 other Indian boxers at Incheon, there hasn’t been coaching support at international competition for close to two years. A ban on the Indian Boxing Federation meant that boxers had to compete as independent athletes — not under the Indian flag — and coaches could not travel with them. It was only at the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow in July-August this year that boxers were allowed to compete under the India banner, but only on the condition that elections for a new national federation would be held soon. A provisional return to the fold of a newly-elected Boxing India was permitted just before the Asian Games opened.
“It’s a relief for us because boxers need coaches around. They guide us and we have more confidence when they are with us. During bouts, it’s the coaches who spell out ring strategies and tell us what to improve in the next round,” Thapa said, adding that the team now has more incentive to lift its performances. “It’s great to be competing under the Indian flag. It’s a motivation factor for us and we wish to do well here with the wishes of our countrymen,” he said.
Boxing was a rich source of medals for India at the last Asian Games in Guangzhou when they won nine medals, including two golds. But even India’s chief coach Gurbaksh Sandhu is not sure what to expect. “It will not be easy for us to do well here. It’s difficult for me to evaluate my boxers and work out strategies because I’ve not seen them much in international competitions,” Sandhu said, adding that not accompanying the team on previous trips had made things difficult. “lifting of the ban has been very good for us but I feel India has lost precious time and has slid. I can’t assess our chances and I've been telling our boxers that each bout is a final for us,” Sandhu said.
The old Indian boxing federation was suspended by world body AIBA in December 2012 for not following procedure during elections.