The Youth and Junior National Championships are all set to mark the resumption of boxing in the country as the much-anticipated domestic tournaments will make a return after more than a year-long wait due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fourth edition of the Youth Men & Women National Championships will take place from July 18 to 23 which will be followed by the third edition of Junior Boys National Championships and the fourth edition of Junior Girls National Championships, which are scheduled from July 26 to 31. The tournaments will be held at Delhi Public School (DPS) in Sonipat and will be played following all the Covid-19 safety protocols.
"It has been a very tough time for our players with the absence of domestic tournaments for more than a year now due to the pandemic. However, the situation has improved and this gave us the confidence to resume the sport. We felt it will be good to start with the junior and youth nationals as the international tournaments are also resuming and our boxers will get an opportunity to represent the country and compete in the international stage again," Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh said in a release.
The Nationals will also be treated as the selection tournament as the winners will be selected to represent the country in the upcoming ASBC Youth & Junior Boxing Championships which is slated to take place in Dubai from August 17 to 31. The participation from 34 states/UT units, including Ladakh, and Services Sports Control Board is expected for the upcoming National Championships. The youth event is expected to witness the presence of more than 300 men and 200-plus women boxers.
"Boxing is one of the rising and top sports in the country and we are happy to associate with BFI and host the Youth and Junior National Boxing Championships," said Ranjoo Mann, Pro-Vice Chairperson of Delhi Public School.
In the last edition of Youth Boxing Nationals held in June 2019, Services Sports Control Board and Haryana emerged as the overall champions in men's and women's category, respectively and Haryana had also concluded as the top team at the last edition of the Junior Women's Nationals just before the pandemic hit the world.
( With inputs from ANI )
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