There will be greater focus on making Indian boxers mentally stronger for high-pressure events like the Olympics, Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh told PTI. An unprecedented nine Indian boxers – five men and four women – made the cut for the shopwiece with Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) securing the lone medal, India’s first in nine years, by advancing to the semifinals.
Handed tricky draws, the men, however, could log just one win – through debutant super heavyweight Satish Kumar – while world no 1 Amit Panghal (52kg) was among those who lost in the opening round. India did not win a medal at the 2016 Olympics where none of the female boxers from the country could even qualify. Only three men had made it to the main draw back then.
“Definitely it is not what was expected. I feel particularly bad about the defeats of (an injured) Vikas (Krishan) and Amit,” Singh said in a telephonic conversation from Tokyo, there to assess the campaign.
“Then Mary (Kom)…