Boxing in India - build up to the Olympics

                                                            Image from Getty

Governing body:

• In India : Indian Boxing Federation is the national governing body for Olympic boxing.
• International : International Boxing Association (AIBA) was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international governing body for boxing until 2019, when the IOC suspended its recognition of the federation due to multiple corruption scandals.
• For the 2021 Olympics, the IOC will oversee the qualification events for boxing for the 2020 Olympic Games through a task force called the Boxing Task force (BTF).

2 types of boxing:

a. Professional boxing

• It is regulated, sanctioned boxing by 4 organizations like the World boxing organization (WBO)
• Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract
  
• It is typically much longer and can last up to 12 rounds
• The boxers cannot hit below the belt or the back, head or neck
• Protective headgear is not permitted, and boxers are generally allowed to take substantial punishment before a fight is halted
  
• The last decade has seen a decline in US but is strong in parts of Europe

 
b. Amateur boxing
This is the kind of boxing that is recognized at the Olympics.

The duration is much shorter:

• 3 rounds (bout) of 3 mins each
• 1 min interval between rounds

 
Age classification:

• Men and Women Boxers between the ages of 19 to 40 are categorized as Elite Boxers.
• Men and Women Boxers between the ages of 17 to 18 are categorized as Youth Boxers.
  
• Boys and Girls Boxers between the ages of 15 to 16 are categorized as Junior Boxers.

 
How can a boxer win?

There is a referee inside the ring and 5 ring -side judges in a match.

A boxer can win in the below ways:

A. Knock out:
If a boxer knocks the opponent down to the floor and the opponent is not able to get up within a count of 10, it is called a knock out.
In case of a KO, the bout ends immediately, and the winner is declared.
 
B. Via points:
Five judges seated on the ringside score the boxers based on number of blows landed on the target areas, domination of the bout, technique and tactical superiority and competitiveness. Deductions can also be made based on infringement.
 
At the end of every round, each of the judges determine a winner for the round based on the judging criteria and award the victor 10 points for the round. The loser of the round can be awarded anywhere between seven to nine points based on the level of performance in that round.
 
After the bout ends, each judge adds up the round scores to determine a final winner. A boxer can win through unanimous decision if all five judges unanimously agree that the winner has taken two or more rounds.
 
In situations where the judges have a difference in opinion, the majority consensus is taken into account and the winner is determined through split decision.
 
C. Referee Stop Contest:

The winner of a boxing bout can also be determined through RSC (Referee Stop Contest) -- when the referee or ringside doctors deem one of the boxers unfit to continue a bout), walkovers, disqualifications (DSQ) or when a boxer retires voluntarily or his corner throws in the towel (ABD).
 
3.       Protective gear
Protective headgear was removed from men's competition due to higher concussion rates occurring in fights using headgear than in fights without the headgear.
Women still have protective head gear
 
4.       2021 Olympics : 23 July to 8 August 2021
The number of weight classes for men was reduced from 10 to 8, with the women's weight classes having a corresponding increase from 3 to 5

Men will contest in the below 8 weight classes:
·         Flyweight (52kg)
·         Featherweight (57kg)
·         Lightweight (63kg)
·         Welterweight (69kg)
·         Middleweight (75kg)
·         Light heavyweight (81kg)
·         Heavyweight (91kg)
·         Super heavyweight (91+kg)
 
 
Women will contest matches in these 5 weight classes:
·         Flyweight (51kg)
·         Featherweight (57kg)
·         Lightweight (60kg)
·         Welterweight (69kg)
·         Middleweight (75kg)
 
Olympics qualification criteria

Number of berths

• Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was permitted to enter up to one athlete in each event.
  
• Six places (four men and two women) were reserved for the host nation Japan
  
• Eight further places (five men and three women) were allocated to the Tripartite Invitation Commission -  athletes from such NOCs, which have not been able to qualify
  

India - Having secured 9 out of a possible 13 quota places (5 men and 4 women) in the Asia/Oceania qualifier already, India can send its boxers to the World qualifier in June 2021 for the 4 remaining weight categories – men’s 57kg, 81kg, 91kg and women’s 57kg.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is India’s biggest-ever boxing contingent at the event.

Already qualified from India

Women:

• Mary Kom: Flyweight (51kg) 

    

                                                     Image from Economictimes.com

• She has achieved everything possible but is hungry to do more every time
• A 6-time world champion, she holds the record for the most number of medals at the world championships, a mother to her four children, a member of the Indian parliament and an Olympic medallist.
• India’s only female boxer to win an Olympic medal, has qualified for her second Olympic Games at the age of 37.
• Her experience of over two decades will be her biggest weapon.
• She fought her way through a very controversial national qualifier with Nikhat Zareen and emerged as India’s number one pick for the 51-kg event once again and then after months of training, came into the qualifying event in Amman as one of the boxers to beat.
• What drives her: She says “people from my country expect a lot from me when I enter the ring. It is something that I am proud of. But what if I am not able to live up to their expectations? These thoughts drive me on.”
• She says, winning once is easy, doing it again and again is tough. She wants the youngsters to challenge themselves to do it.
• Tokyo 2020 will be MC Mary Kom’s last Olympics since she’ll be above 40 years of age and will no longer be eligible to take part in boxing by the time the next Olympics happens.

• Pooja Rani : Middleweight 75kg

                                                            Image from MSN.com

• The gold medalist at the Asian championships in the light heavyweight category .
• Four years ago she wasn’t able to qualify for Rio 2016 but this time around she was the first Indian female boxer to make the cut for Tokyo 2020.

• Lovlina Borgohain:. Welterweight (69kg)

                                                             Image from dnaindia.com

• She has been winning consistently.
• In the qualifier she lost in the semis and won bronze. She said she took it a little lightly and wants to aim for the gold in the Olympics.

• Simrajjit Kaur : Lightweight (60kg)

                                                    Image from Sportskeeda.com

• She is the first girl from Punjab to qualify.

• Yet to qualify : We can still have a qualification in the Featherweight (57kg) category.
  

 
Men:

• Amit Panghal: Flyweight (52kg)

                                          Image from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

• As a nation we have a lot of hope pinned on him
• He is the current world no 1 in his weight category
• He has won gold at the 2018 & 2019 Asian Games and silver at the 2019 World championships.

• Vikas Krishan: Welterweight (69kg)

                                                    Image from deccanherald.com

• The only boxer other than Vijender singh to qualify for 3 Olympics.
• Krishan was carrying a back injury last year after he had switched to proferssional boxing, but came back to amateur.

• Ashish Kumar: Middleweight (75kg)

                                                    Image from boxingfederation.in

• He qualified for the 2020 Olympics to fulfil his late father’s dream.
  
• The Indian boxer, who revealed that he lost his father a month before the qualifiers and wanted to quit boxing actually channeled the grief into his gloves.

• Satish Kumar: Super heavyweight (+91kg)

                                                 Image from newindianexpress.com

• He is the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Games in the super heavyweight category.

• Manish Kaushik : Lightweight (63kg)

                                                         Image from indiatvnews.com

• Yet to qualify : We can still have a qualification in the 57kg, 81kg, 91kg categories.

 
Olympic preparation:

• Indian boxers were training at Patiala and then flew to Italy & France for 2 months trip for exposure and to compete in some tournaments.
• Vikas Krishan and Manish Kaushik did not go to Italy. Krishan is training in the USA while Manish Kaushik is recovering from an unspecified injury.
• Mary Kom also Opted out of EU practice tour due to dengue.

 In the Alexis Vastine international boxing tournament in France, Indian boxers (men) won  3 gold, 1 silver & 3 bronze.

So, they have had some good practice & tournament exposure as well as we build up to the big tournament.

Rankings:

 
As you see, the number of Indian boxers in the top 3 & Top 5 have almost doubled since 2016. 

These are good signs.

The Olympic group that will represent India has a good mix of experience & youth that should help us get over the line.

I think we have never been so optimistic about our boxing chances and hope they live up to our expectations.