Indians geared up for challenge

Busan:

With Dingko Singh bringing an end to the 16-year gold drought in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, Indian boxers are all charged up to give another spirited performance at the Busan Games. The eight-member Indian team prepared in the right earnest at the training camp in Patiala, but will have to face world class boxers, especially from Korea, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The ratio of medals won by Korea in the Asian Games - 53 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze so far - is an indication that they are keen to repeat their 1986 performance, when they set a record by sweeping all the 12 titles in the event. It is this sweep of medals that gives the Koreans an aura. And being the hosts this year, they will go all out to establish their supremacy in all the weight categories. However, the Indian pugilists too are going with a positive frame of mind and are ready for the kill. Dingko Singh, the toast of the Indian contingent with his timings and reaction levels, would have a tough time too. The Indian Navy boxer, Dingko, who sustained an injury during the Bangkok Games, seems to have recovered fully and is rated as the best boxer in the 54-kg category in the Asian region. Team member, Mohammad Ali Qamar who won the gold in the light fly weight category at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, too has his task cut out. Likewise, feather weight (57 kg) boxer Som Bahadur Pun and veteran middle weight (75 kg) pugilist Jitender Kumar too are expected to figure in the medals tally, especially the latter, who fought brilliantly in Manchester on way to the Commonwealth bronze. Twenty-seven-year-old Harpal Singh, a higher weight category boxer too has shown improvement by lasting the full distance of five rounds against world class opponents, which is creditable enough to expect a silver or a bronze from him. On all counts, the Indian pugilists face an uphill task of handling the swiftness in the ring from Thai, Japanese, Filipino and North Korean boxers, besides the strong hosts. India stands seventh in the overall boxing medals tally for the last 13 Asian Games, with Korea leading the list (53 Gold - 17 Silver - 19 Bronze), followed by Thailand (16-17-20), Japan (15-12-27) and behind sixth-placed Pakistan (5-15-33). Considering their tally from Hiroshima and Seoul Games, pugilists from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan would also be a force to reckon with. Having entered the Games only in 1994, the Uzbeks have already claimed five golds, four silver and five bronze, while the Kazakh tally reads 5-2-2. (PTI)