India an emerging power in world boxing, says Manpreet

New Delhi:

Riding high on recent success of the Indian boxers in international circuit, the country is fast transforming itself into a force to reckon with, feels pugilist Manpreet Singh.

"India's decent performances in various international competitions in the recent time has certainly played a considerable role in making us a force to reckon with in world boxing. I think, we have started receiving enough respect from our international opponents nowadays," said Manpreet.

Manpreet and two compatriots - Amandeep Singh and Akshay Kumar - returned to the country on Monday after clinching a silver medal each in the recently concluded Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial Boxing Championship in Makhachkala, Russia.

However, Manpreet who fights in 91kg category, lamented missing out on the chance to pocket a gold as he had to skip the final due to a nose injury sustained during a hard-fought semifinal bout against Khomaster Artur of Germany.

"I felt very sad after I could not participate in the final and had to give the opponent walk-over. I was ready to fight hard for the gold and everyone was confident about my chance of wining the title-round," Manpreet added.

On their experience in the tournament, another member of the Indian contingent, Amandeep said: "We received ample support from the crowd in Russia where the Indian population turned out in huge numbers to support us throughout the tournament."

"The training that we received in the Patiala camp is of high quality which has helped us in producing better results in the tournament. All the coaches and support staff worked very hard before the tournament," Akshay said.