Five Olympic bound Indian boxers to train in Germany ahead of Paris Olympics

NEW DELHI: Olympic-bound Indian boxers, sans CWG gold medallist Amit Panghal, will travel to Germany for a month-long training camp, starting June 28, ahead of the Paris Games.

The boxers, including world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), will train alongside the national squads of Ireland, USA, Mongolia, Germany and Denmark among others at the Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken, Germany.

The other boxers are 2023 World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev (71Kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg).

Panghal (51kg), however, will continue to train at Sports Authority of India’s Shilaroo centre with his coaches and support staff from the national camp and will join the rest of the team in France.

"The training camp in Saarbrucken will not just provide the Indian contingent an opportunity to spar with quality boxers from different countries, it will also help them acclimatise well before the Games as the weather conditions in Germany are similar to the ones they will encounter in Paris," said Hemanta Kumar Kalita, Secretary General, Boxing Federation of India in a release.

Six Indian pugilists, four women and two men, have qualified for the Olympics and five of them will be training in Germany till July 22 before heading to the French capital for the Games.

India have so far won three bronze medals in the Olympic Games with Vijender Singh opening the nation's account in Beijing in 2008 and the legendary MC Mary Kom adding to that list in 2012 in London.

Lovlina will be attempting to become only the third Indian and second woman from the country to win back-to-back Olympic medals after her bronze medal feat in Tokyo.