Tokyo 2020, Indian boxing preview: Can biggest-ever Olympics squad return with best-ever medal haul?

Boxing has been a source of medals for India at almost every international sporting meet since 2006 including the Olympics Games in 2008 and 2012. So when the Indian boxing contingent returned empty-handed from the 2016 Rio Olympics, it was a big disappointment.

With the chaos surrounding the national boxing federation, Vijender Singh’s move to the professional circuit and Mary Kom missing out on the Games, Indian boxing seemed on its way down after 2016 but come the Tokyo Games, thanks to the emergence of a new batch of young boxers and some stability in the national federation, India will field its biggest-ever contingent of nine boxers.

Five male boxers and four female boxers – all of whom who have won medals at the international level will aim to add to India’s tally of two medals in the discipline at the Olympics.

India won a total of six medals across the last men’s and women’s world championships. Five of those medallists are part of the team in Tokyo and will look to match or even better the results at the Olympics.

Here’s a detailed look at every Indian boxer at the Games and what are their prospects in Tokyo

Amit Panghal (Men’s Flyweight, 52kg)

World Ranking: 1st

Strengths and Weaknesses: Panghal has a nice mix of controlled aggression and tactical acumen. Being a southpaw, he makes it quite uncomfortable for orthodox opponents to face him. Having moved to the 52kg category, he has faced a lot of tall boxers for which he has been working on his reach and power, aspects which he feels he has successfully worked on in the last year.

“Amit is very strong in long-range. That’s where he can find a lot of joy with his punches. So the advice from us for him to always try and play in long-range. Once he is in short-range, it’s important for him to move in order to better defend himself,” Indian boxing head coach CA Kutappa told Scroll.in.

Panghal can be a slow starter at times, an aspect that he needs to work to improve if he is to win gold in Tokyo.

Main opponents: World No 2 in the Flyweight category, Shakhobidin Zoirov has been Panghal’s nemesis beating him in the 2019 World Championship final. The Indian has lost all three bouts against the Uzbek boxer and he will have to overcome the mental hurdle to succeed in Tokyo.

“Past results do have a bearing but sometimes it’s just a byproduct of form. Zoirov was probably in better form then but I feel Amit is in better shape now. In boxing, you can’t predict anything but I sense, Amit is mentally strong to cope with this challenge and this time it will be a different fight,” former national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told Scroll.in.

Schedule:

July 26 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 31 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Final

Manish Kaushik (Men’s Lightweight, 63kg)

World Ranking: 6th

Strengths and Weaknesses: The postponement of the Olympics has been of great help for Manish who was able to recover from a bicep injury that had kept him out of action for ten months. Hailing from Bhiwani, Manish grew up watching the exploits of Vijender Singh and would love to emulate his feat in Tokyo.

Like Panghal, Manish’s strengths too lie in playing in long range.

“Manish is an excellent long-range boxer and like Amit we want him to play to his strengths. When in close range, he has a tendency to hold but we have been working on his movement and there has been a lot of improvement which makes us optimistic,” Kutappa said.

Manish has also worked on his overall stamina which was a bit of an area of concern and improved his punch power ahead of the Games.

Main opponents: Cuba’s Andy Cruz, the defending world champion and World No 1, USA’s Keshawn Davis and Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov are quite strong contenders for the medals. Manish had lost to Cruz via a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the world championship semi-finals. Finishing on the podium will thus be a big ask for the Indian who will once again have to defy odds and get the better of plenty of boxers in and around him in the world rankings.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 31 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 6 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Final

Vikas Krishan Yadav (Men’s Welterweight, 69kg)

World Ranking: NA

Strengths and Weaknesses: A two-time Olympian and among the most decorated boxers of all time in India, Vikas is the veteran in the contingent. The 29-year-old personifies tact in boxing. He likes to plan his every move and most times, he executes them to perfection.

Set to compete in his third and final Olympics and has ironed out some major chinks in his armour – balance in the ring, close range boxing and the jab. He says his jab is now nearly perfect. With loads of experience, Vikas is capable of outsmarting any opponent on the day.

“Vikas is very good in long and medium range. His problems were in body balance which he has worked on quite well in recent weeks,” Kutappa said.

Another southpaw, Vikas is likely to be at his very best in Tokyo having learned new tricks since joining the professional circuit.

Main opponents: The welterweight category is very competitive with Great Britain’s Pat McCormack, Russia Andrei Zamkovoi, Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias, Uzbekistan’s Bobo-Usman Baturov being quite dominant. However, eighth-ranked Ablaikhan Zhussupov claimed bronze at the 2019 world championships which show how tough the competition is.

Schedule:

July 24 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 27 (AM & PM): Round of 16
July 30 (AM & PM): QF
August 1 (AM & PM): SF
August 3 (PM): Final

Ashish Kumar (Men’s Middleweight, 75kg)

World Ranking: 13th

Strengths and Weaknesses: Medallist at consecutive Asian championships, Ashish has made steady progress in his category. His preparation this year was hampered after contracting Covid-19. He lost his father a month before he qualified for the Olympics but has shown great character in battling adversities off the ring while still maintaining the level of performances on it.

Ashish has struggled with his punch accuracy, an aspect that he has been working hard on.

“Ashish misses a lot of punches. We have been working on his accuracy and tried to get him to land his blows on the body and chest. The results have been great and in Italy, he was landing most of the blows on target which is a big plus,” Kutappa said.

Main opponents: Ashish is an outsider when it comes to medal contention and it will be a big achievement if he could make the cut at quarter-finals.

Schedule:

July 26 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Final

Satish Kumar (Men’s Super Heavyweight, +91kg)

World Ranking: 23

Strengths and Weaknesses: The first super heavyweight to qualify for the Games but the one about whom not many are talking about. His ranking suggests he is an outsider but he has also been out of action for a long time and his last competition was before the pandemic. While it could be problematic for the boxer, he has used the time off to improve his skills.

Pace is an aspect in which he hopes to be a step ahead of the rest as heavier weight divisions are not particularly quick-moving in the ring. He also has one of the strongest punches in the category.

“No one in the super heavy category produces as many punches as Satish. It’s a big plus for him. We have also worked on his movement as boxers in that weight category don’t move a lot so it can be an advantage for him,” Kutappa said.

Main opponents: Satish’s medal prospects are quite bleak given his ranking. Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov and Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev are very strong in this category and so his best hopes of even springing up a surprise are limited to a bronze medal at best.

Schedule:

July 24 (PM): Round of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Final

Mary Kom (Women’s Flyweight, 51kg)

World Ranking: 3rd

Strengths and Weaknesses: Mary Kom is among the greatest women boxers ever with six gold medals at the World Championships. However, the yellow metal has evaded her at the Olympics. Playing her last Games, Mary Kom is determined than ever to win gold and seal her status as the greatest ever in the sport.

“Memories (of the 2012 bronze) do not make me nostalgic. They make me more determined and resolved in my aim and desire to win gold at the Olympics in Tokyo. I will give it my best shot,” Mary Kom was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Among the sharpest movers in the ring at the peak of her prowess, Mary Kom is, however, candid enough to admit that she has slowed down but to make up for that, she has worked on adding more muscle and thereby more power to her punches. It remains to be seen how she handles the younger competition which awaits her at the Games.

Mental strength is Mary Kom’s biggest asset and she will once again bank on it to possibly pull off another miracle in Rio.

Main opponents: Turkey’s Businaz Cakiroglu who beat Mary Kom in the 2019 World Championships semi-final is also a solid opponent. Defending world champion Lilya Aetbaeva of Russia is ranked below Mary Kom in fourth place but will be in the mix in Tokyo. USA’s Virginia Fuchs, a bronze medallist at the 2018 Worlds will also pose a challenge for Mary Kom.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 29 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 1 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Final

Simranjit Kaur (Women’s Lightweight, 60kg)

World Ranking: 6th

Strengths and Weaknesses: Aggression is Simranjit’s biggest asset with an imposing frame and her punches have hard-to-miss power but she would like to be a bit more in control when up against dogged defenders, who are good at taking advantage of her natural instincts to launch into an offensive.

Her world championship medal in 2018 came in the 64kg weight category and since dropping to the 60kg category, she has won medals in consecutive Asian Championships.

How Simranjeet Kaur dropped a weight category and punched her way to the Olympics

Main opponents: The Lightweight category is one of the fiercely contested ones with four boxers having over a 1000 rating points. Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira, Finland’s Mira Potkonen, Ireland’s Kerrie Harrington, USA’s Rashid Ellis and China’s Cong Wang are the main contenders for the medal. Simranjit is thus an outsider in the medal race but if she can put her best foot forward, it’s not beyond her.

Schedule:

July 27 (AM & PM): Round of 32
July 30 (AM & PM): Round of 16
August 3 (AM & PM): QF
August 5 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Final

Lovlina Borgohain (Women’s Welterweight, 69kg)

World Ranking: 3rd

Strengths and Weaknesses: The youngest in the Tokyo-bound women’s boxing team is a low-profile, high-performing asset. Considered a technically sound boxer, it would be interesting to see how she responds to the pressure of being at the biggest sporting show.

However, with back-to-back medals at World Championships, Lovlina has shown that she can cope with the big stage. Her ranking will also bring expectations and it will largely depend on how she copes with it. She is pretty much a complete boxer and is among India’s leading medal hopefuls in the discipline.

Main opponents: Turkey’s World No 1 Busenaz Surmeneli, Chinese Taipei’s Nien Chin Chen, China’s Hong Gu and Yang Lui, Germany’s Nadine Apetz and Canada’s Myriam Da Silva are the strongest contenders in the women’s welterweight category. Lovlina lost to Chen in the 2018 Worlds semi-final and China’s Yang Lui in the 2019 last-four clash.

Schedule:

July 24 (AM): Round of 32
July 27 (AM & PM): Round of 16
July 30 (AM & PM): QF
August 4 (PM): SF
August 7 (PM): Final

Pooja Rani (Women’s Middleweight, 75kg)

World Ranking: NA

Strengths and Weaknesses: Pooja Rani’s career seemed to be over when she suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury, but the Bhiwani boxer fought back to book a ticket to Tokyo. Rich with experience, Pooja Rani’s biggest asset is her mental strength that has seen overcome a series of difficulties to make it to the Olympics at the age of 30.

Adapting to the opponents is one of Pooja’s strengths she has developed over the years and it could come handy in the 75kg category which will be new for her. The gold medal at the Asian Championships proved she is in good shape physically and mentally.

Indian boxing: Pooja Rani on her Olympic dreams, Covid-19 and the importance of self belief

Main Opponents: It’s hard to judge Pooja’s medal prospects. She will definitely not be a favourite to finish on the podium despite her Asian championship medal as the strongest competition in this category comes from outside Asia.

Schedule:

July 25 (AM): Round of 32
July 28 (AM & PM): Round of 16
Jul 31 (AM & PM): QF
August 6 (PM): SF
August 8 (PM): Final

Prediction

“It’s difficult to exactly call a number, but knowing the qualities and the characters of the Indian boxers, I have a feeling that Tokyo will bring a record haul for Indian boxing. I also feel that the colour of the medals will also be different.”

Gurbax Singh Sandhu, former national boxing coach

(With PTI inputs)