Australia opts out of Commonwealth Boxing Championships

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Australia's pull-out has taken
some sheen off the sixth Commonwealth Boxing Championship here
but the March 10-18 event would still present a massive
challenge for Indian pugilists as they brace up to square off
against glovesmen from 13 nations.

Close to 120 boxers are expected to participate in the
event at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, which is still
undergoing renovation for the Commonwealth Games in October.
"The stadium would be ready. Even if it is not ready
completely, the part that we need, which is the arena and the
lounge area for boxers and officials, would be ready," Indian
Boxing Federation secretary general P K Muralidharan Raja told
reporters here on Thursday.
The championships were postponed last year due to the
non-completion of the construction work at the venue.
India, which won a gold, two silver and six bronze medals
in the fifth edition, will host boxers from England, Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mauritius, kenya, Samoa and Singapore.
The IBF is still awaiting confirmation from Canada while
Australia has turned down the invitation citing previous
commitments.
"Australia regretted not being able to participate due to
prior commitments and didn't specify anything else. We are
awaiting confirmation from Canada and hopefully it will come
soon," Raja said.
"All the remaining top Commonwealth nations are coming.
So, we expect a tough competition," he added.
The event will be the first to feature boxers in the new
weight categories announced last year. The AIBA reshuffled the
divisions to abolish featherweight (57kg) and increase the
bantam weight from 54kg to 56kg.
2005 Commonwealth Championship and the 2006 Commonwealth
Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar, also an Olympian, said India
can look forward to best-ever results in the event this time.
"The team has not yet been selected but I can tell you,
the results are going to be excellent. All the boxers have
trained very hard and we will get a good haul of medals," he
said.
The Indian team for the event would be selected on the
basis of the boxers' performance in this month's Super Cup and
the trials to be held a couple of weeks ahead of the
Championships.
"The Super Cup would allow us to identify upcoming names
and during the trials, those who do not participate in Super
Cup will get their chance to prove their worth," Raja said.
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