GUWAHATI: The Boxing Federation of India has unveiled the logo, mascot and an official song for the youth women’s world championships, to be held here from 19 November.
The event, that marks the return of big ticket boxing to India, will feature close to 200 boxers from 38 countries.
The tournament will double up as a qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games next year in Buenos Aires. The last time India hosted a world championship was in 2006, for senior women.
The Indian team for the championship will be announced closer to the 17 November deadline set by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). This championship is the first of three world championships that India will host over the next three years. Next year, the country will play host to the senior women’s world championships, before conducting the marquee event for men in 2021. Both tournaments will be held in Delhi.
BFI President Ajay Singh told PTI, “The boxers we will see in this tournament will be the ones who will go on to represent the country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Assam chief minister Sarbanda Sonowal, who was also present on the occasion, said he intends to make the state capital the new sports capital of the country.
The event mascot is Assam’s famed one-horn rhino, christened ‘Gappi’, while a peppy number ‘Make Some Noise’ sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and composed by Shaan, was unveiled as the official song for the event.
“I can’t say how many but India will definitely be winning a good number of medals here. The girls have come along quite well,” India’s first ever foreign coach for youth women boxers, Raffaele Bergamasco, told PTI.
