Five Olympics-bound Indian boxers to prepare in Germany ahead of Paris 2024

New Delhi: Five Olympics-bound Indian boxers will head to the Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken, Germany, for a month-long training camp starting from June 28 as part of their final preparations ahead of the Games.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal (51kg) will, however, continue to train at Sports Authority of India’s Shilaroo centre with his coaches and support staff from the national camp and will join the rest of the team in France, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) informed in a release on Wednesday.

Supported by REC Limited, a leading Maharatna Company under the Ministry of Power, the contingent boasting of the likes of world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg), 2023 World Championships bronze medallist, Nishant Dev (71Kg) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) along with Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) will train alongside the national squads of Ireland, USA, Mongolia, Germany and Denmark among others.

“The training camp in Saarbrucken will not just provide the Indian contingent an opportunity to spar with quality boxers from different countries, it will also help them acclimatise well before the Games as the weather conditions in Germany are similar to the ones they will encounter in Paris,” said Hemanta Kumar Kalita, Secretary General, Boxing Federation of India.

Six Indian pugilists, four women and two men, have qualified for the Paris Olympics and five of them will be training in Germany till July 22 before heading to the French capital for the Games.

India have so far won three bronze medals in the Olympic Games with Vijender Singh opening the nation’s account in 2008 and the legendary Mary Kom adding to that list in 2012. Lovlina will be attempting to become only the third Indian and second woman from the country to win back-to-back Olympic medals. Wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008, 2012) and P.V. Sindhu (2016, 2020) are the only Indians to do so thus far.