Starting from the 20th August 2015, Anantapur will see its first set of punches, jabs, hooks and may be even some knock outs, as the district is all set to host its first ever boxing tournament.
The Anantapuram District Boxing Association with the support of Rural Development Trust is hosting the Sub Junior Boys State Level Boxing tournament at the Anantapur Sports Village (ASV) from 20th to 23rd August, 2015.
The State tournament will see 13 districts from all over Andhra Pradesh compete for top honors. The winners from this tournament will be sent to participate in the Sub Junior National Boxing Championship scheduled to be held in the coastal state of Goa around the latter half of September.
The tournament is set to host about 250 athletes in various weight categories, who will be competing for the ultimate prize, the opportunity to represent the state of Andhra Pradesh at the upcoming nationals. 30 top boxers of the tournamentwill be heading to Visakhapatnam and training there at the SAI facility for the upcoming nationals.
The athletes began arriving on19th August morning at ASV, and weigh-ins are scheduled for the morning of the 20th August, after which a meeting along with the team managers is scheduled, where the team managers will be briefed about the tournament rules and allotted their respective draws.
The Opening ceremony will be graced by Dronacharya award winner, I. Venkateshwar Rao and former Olympian John Williamson.
“It will be a great honor to have these personalities in our midst while hosting our first ever boxing tournament in Anantapur. The athletes would be very encouraged with the opportunity to interact with such legends. We would also like to thank Rural Development Trust (RDT) for their continuous support in encouraging us to promote the sport and especially in hosting this tournament” said Mahesh Kumar, Anantapuram District Boxing Association Secretary.