Olympian boxer Jitendra appointed assistant coach

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

With only one boxer managing to secure a Rio Olympics berth so far, the Sports Ministry has availed the services of two-time Olympian and Arjuna awardee Jitendra Kumar to maximise the men’s team’s chances at the final qualifying event.

After none of the women boxers managed to qualify for the Rio Games, the chances of their male counterparts securing an Olympics berth also look tough. Only Shiva Thapa has qualified so far, and the other hopefuls have only one chance left to make the cut — the World Olympic Qualification event in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 16 to 25.

The failure of the women boxers, most notably Mary Kom and L Sarita Devi, has made the Ministry nervous. So it doesn’t want to take any chances with the men’s team, which is preparing at NIS Patiala. 

The appointment of Kumar has come at a crucial time, with just a fortnight to prepare the middle-weight and heavy-weight boxers for the Baku event. 

But given his experience and stature, the Ministry is confident that his appointment would be a great value addition to the team. 

Kumar, who hails from Bhiwani, will be assisting chief national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu at the national camp. 

His appointment has come close on the heels of another addition to the support staff of former India boxer Dharmendra Singh Yadav.

Kumar represented India at the Sydney and Athens Olympics. He won a silver medal at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. It was after a gap of 24 years that an Indian boxer had managed to win a silver at the CWG. He also won a bronze at the Manchester CWG.