Commonwealth Games 2014: Meet the Indian boxing contingent

Indian boxers will play a crucial role at the Commonwealth Games this year as the pugilists try to better theDelhi 2010 performance where they won seven medals (3 gold and 4 bronze). Let us look at the boxers who will be representing the nation at Glasgow,

L Devendro Singh

Devendro excelled at boxing right from a young age. His sister Sushila Devi is a former national boxing champion.

He qualified for the World Amateur boxing championships after victories over Nanao Singh and Amandeep Singh in the trials. However, he lost in the quarterfinals to South Korea’s Shin Jong-Hun.

At the 2012 London Olympics, he lost to Paddy Barnes 23-18 in the quarters. The Manipur lad won silver in the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championship and a bronze at the FXTM International Limassol Boxing Cup.

In February 2014, Devendro won gold at the Bocskai Invitation Tournament in Hungary. He was the only gold medallist for India in the tournament

Event at Commonwealth Games: 49 Kg category.

Shiva Thapa

Shiva won a bronze medal at the 2008 Children of Asia International Sports Games that was held in Moscow in 2008. He won gold at the Haider Aliyev Cup later that year.

The Assam lad was chosen to represent India in the 52-Kg category at the 2009 Junior World boxing Championships in Armenia. He won a bronze medal. Shiva won a silver medal at the second Youth World Amateur boxing Championships and qualified for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.

He injured his fist during his semifinal bout at the Youth Olympics and returned home with a silver medal in the 54 Kg category after losing to a Cuban boxer in the finals.

Shiva defeated Wessam Salamana in the final of the 2012 Asian Olympic qualifiers to become the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. He lost in the first round to Oscar Valdez in the first round of the 56 Kg Bantamweight category.

Shiva became the youngest Indian to win gold at the Asian Confederation boxing Championship in Jordan. He lost in the quarterfinals at the 2013 World boxing championships in Kazakhstan.

Shiva has a contract with World Series Boxing and plays for USA Knockouts.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 52 Kg category

Manoj Kumar

Manoj Kumar hails from Haryana and has been a consistent performer for India at various international events.

Year	Games	Event	Medal
2007	Asian Championships	Light Welterweight	BRONZE
2009	Czech Grand Prix	Light Welterweight	BRONZE
2010	Delhi Commonwealth Games	Light Welterweight	GOLD
2013	Asian Championships	Light Welterweight	BRONZE

Manoj missed out on a medal at the 2012 London Olympics as he lost in the pre-quarterfinal against World No. 1 Tom Stalker in a controversial manner.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 64 Kg category

Mandeep Jangra

Mandeep won several medals at state and national level boxing championships. He came up trumps when he was tested outside the nation as well.

Year	Games	Event	Medal
2013	FXTM International Limassol Boxing Cup	Welterweight	BRONZE
2013	Asian Championships	Welterweight	BRONZE

Event at Commonwealth Games: 69 Kg category

Vijender Singh

Vijender practiced at the Bhiwani boxing club under Coach Jagdish Singh. He worked part time and tried his hand at modelling to financially support his coaching.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he lost to Mustafa Karagollu in the welterweight category. He bounced back strongly in major events after that initial hiccup.

Year	Games	Event	Medal
2006	Commonwealth Games	Welterweight	SILVER
2006	Doha Asian Games	Middleweight	BRONZE
2008	Beijing Olympics	Middleweight	BRONZE
2009	World Amateur Boxing Championships	Middleweight	BRONZE
2010	Guangzhou Asian Games	Middleweight	GOLD

At the 2012 London Olympics, he lost to Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. He was ranked World No.1 by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) in the middleweight category in September 2009.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 75 Kg category

Sumit Sangwan

Sumit started his career when he was 11-years old. He had won medals at both the state and the national levels at the age of 16.

His first big breakthrough came at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan when he won the gold medal. He qualified for the London Olympics ahead of Dinesh Kumar.

In 2013, he lost in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Championships. He represents USA Knockouts in the World Series of Boxing.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 81 Kg category.

Dinesh Kumar

Dinesh Kumar hails from Bhiwani in Haryana. He is coached by Jagdish Singh.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he lost in the first round to Algerian Abdelhafid Banchabla. He was also part of the boxing team that featured in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian games.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 91 Kg category.

Praveen More

Praveen will be competing in the +91 Kg category at Glasgow.

Pinki Jangra

Pinki tasted first success at the 2nd Junior Women National boxing championship in 2006 by winning gold. The girl from Hisar won a gold medal at the Arafura games in Australia and a silver medal at the Asian Women boxing championships in Mongolia.

She is labelled as a giant killer after overcoming Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom in National boxing championship,2009 and 5-time Sian champion and World champion Sarita Devi in National games and National championship 2011.

Incidentally, she qualified for this year’s Commonwealth Games by beating Mary Kom in the qualifiers.

Event at Commonwealth Games: 51 Kg category.

Sarita Devi

Sarita is the elder sister of Devendro Singh. She has battled all odds to become a champion in her game.

Year	Games	Event	Medal
2001	Asian Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	SILVER
2003	Asian Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	GOLD
2005	Asian Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	GOLD
2005	World Women Boxing Tournament	Lightweight	SILVER
2005	Venus International Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	GOLD
2008	Asian Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	GOLD
2010	Asian Women Boxing Championship	Lightweight	GOLD