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Indian boxers strike gold with their mitts

One gold, six silver, six bronze -- Indian boxers struck a rich vein of form in the course of three tournaments in Cuba.

This, of course, has not convinced the Federal government that the team is good enough to take part in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, in Kuala Lumpur.

Thus, N. G. Dingko Singh, Jitender Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Gurcharan Singh have been asked to prove their physical fitness by August 5, despite their being cleared by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation for the Games squad.

What is interesting is that the fitness tests laid down are more in tune with the requirements for top athletes, not boxers. An initial round of tests in Patiala had all four boxers fail dismally. It was subsequent to these tests that the four boxers went and performed prodigies in Cuba.

The Indian team finished second in two of the three championships in Cuba, while taking fifth spot in the prestigious Giraldo Cardova Cardin competition featuring 18 nations including two teams from Cuba, besides Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, and the US.

Gurcharan Singh was the star performer, returning to competition after a nose surgery, and going through the tour without losing a single bout. In the final tournament, he was in fact adjudged best boxer, picking up the only gold India won in that elite field.

Another outstanding performer was super heavyweight Harpal Singh, who won medals in all three competitions -- one silver, two bronze, while being declared `best loser' in one tournament after a superb show against the favoured Cuban star.

Jitender Singh bagged one silver, one bronze, and could count himself a trifle unfortunate to run into world and Olympic champions each time on the way to higher placings.

The original schedule was to send the team to Jakarta for the President's Cup, from July 20 to 26. With that tournament now cancelled thanks to the economic crisis in Indonesia, the IABF wanted to send the boxers to KL for the Games, where the Indian boxers stand a good chance of figuring prominently in the medal hunt.

The Federal government, for now, doesn't seem to see eye to eye with the IABF on the issue.

India, meanwhile, will field an eight-member team for the Ninth Asian Youth Boxing Championship at Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, from August 15 to 21.