Mary Kom

Imphal, Aug. 31: Khoibi Salam, general secretary of Manipur Amateur Boxing Association (MABA), today said Manipur pugilists are on the right track to dominate Asian sub-continent boxing arena.

Showering applause on Manipur’s pugilists, he said they have made the Indian boxing fraternity proud in the last one-and-a-half decades.

Six women boxers from Manipur are on the list of probables for the India team. They are at present undergoing coaching at Calcutta’s SAI centre for the forthcoming 4th World Women Boxing Championship, 2006, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 17 to 24. Salam feels that at least four Manipur women boxers will make it to the Indian team.

Salam, who is also the vice-president of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), said two-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom will put in her best for the third consecutive gold medal in the 46-kg category in the championship. “If she bags the gold, she will be the only woman to do so in her category and thus create a world record. I have every reason to believe that she can do it. I also firmly believe that other women boxers are equally capable of striking gold for the country,” he said.

The other Manipur women boxers in the national coaching camp are two-time Asian gold medallist L. Sarita Devi and L. Latarani Devi in the 54- kg category, S. Ibemcha Devi in the 60-kg, N. Sangeeta Devi in 62-kg and K. Mandakini Devi in the 48-kg category. He added that another upcoming boxer, N. Max, has been called to the national coaching camp for the Junior Asian Boxing Championship to be held in Goa from October 9 onwards.

Since the inception of women’s boxing in India in 2001, so far six national championships have been held and Manipur pugilists have been the overall champions five times, bagging the runners-up title once.

“Manipur has a lot of boxing talent in the junior category also. However, the lack of exposure prevents them from proving themselves. The good news is that IABF will be holding the 1st Sub-Junior Women’s Boxing Championship and 2nd Junior Women’s Championship at Patiala from September 26 to 30, 2006. For these championships, hectic training is on and our boxers are ready to face the challenge,” Salam added.

The final selection of state team for the games will be held in December. “We have intimated all our renowned boxers employed in various active services and will select a very strong and dynamic boxing team for the Games. We already have a strong women’s contingent and will definitely win the overall team champion. The success story of our boxers lie in discipline, quick reflexes and sharp punches, despite the lack of insufficient infrastructure, equipment and limited number of coaches,” he added.