VIJAYANAGAR: The Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), India’s first privately funded High Performance Olympic Training Centre funded by JSW Sports, is hosting India’s top female boxers in the third edition of the Elite Women’s National Boxing Championship which had begun on 31 December 2018 and will end on 6 January.
This will be the first time a sports federation in India is hosting a national championship at the privately-run institute. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) had also hosted a pre-Asian Games conditioning camp for its elite men and women’s teams at the institute.
The championship has witnessed more the 300 of the nation’s best female boxers, aged between 19 and 40 years of age, across 10 weight categories (45-48 kgs, 51 kgs, 54 kgs, 57 kgs, 60 kgs, 64 kgs, 69 kgs, 75 kgs, 81 kgs, 81+ kgs) representing their respective states and services categories. The competition is being conducted as per AIBA’s AOB Technical & Competition Rules and will consist of three rounds of three minutes each, with a one-minute rest between each round. These elite national trials will serve to identify the best female boxers in each category to be invited for national training camps and to represent India at international tournaments next year.
Highlighting the importance of the nationals, BFI President Ajay Singh said: “JSW joining hands with the BFI for the upcoming Women’s Nationals is extremely heartening. As an organisation, they have been connected with Indian sports for a long period, having invested in sporting infrastructure and supporting players. These nationals are extremely important not only because champion boxers are participating, but also because they will be great inspiration for other participating boxers. As a federation, when we took charge in 2016, our vision was to first restore the lost glory of Indian boxing and work towards making India as a boxing powerhouse. The girls have paved the way for us and very soon you will see some more defining moments in Indian boxing.”
JSW Sports CEO Mustafa Ghouse said: “JSW Sports is looking forward to hosting the 3rd Elite Women’s Boxing Nationals at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS). This is a matter of great prestige for us and we are excited to see the best women boxers in the country compete for the national title. This will also give our young, aspiring boxers the chance to see the best in the country at close quarters and we are confident this will play a huge role in their future growth. The BFI has already hosted a conditioning camp for the elite boxers at IIS earlier this year and we are happy to continue this association by hosting the nationals. The tournament would be an important event as the boxers move towards their preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and we are expecting to see a high quality of competition in Vijayanagar.”
