Boxers Mary Kom from Manipur, Shiva Thapa from Assam are gearing up to show their prowess at the inaugural India Open Boxing Tournament in Delhi.
Mary Kom is a five-time world champion and Shiva Thapa is a three-time Asian medallist. Former World and Asian Champion L Sarita Devi and Former World Silver-Medallist Sarjubala Devi are also participating in the event.
The five-day tournament will start from January 28. The national capital’s Thyagaraj Stadium will host the tournament with USD $1,00,000 as prize money. This tournament will be a qualifier for the Commonwealth Game trials
Boxers from 25 countries will participate in the tournament including Uzbekistan, Cuba, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
Around 80 boxers (female and male) from across the country will participate in the tournament.
The Indian Open is a big opportunity for the Indian boxers who want to leave an impression on the selection committee and the coaching panel ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
The teams A, B, C and D for men boxers will showcase all the boxers, who have either already risen to prominence or are out to leave a mark in the boxing ring.
The 44-member women’s contingent will be divided into five teams with Team E composing Mary Kom and Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra.
They will be joined by a host of pugilists like world championships silver- medallist Sonia lather, former world and Asian champion L Sarita Devi, world youth champion Shashi Chopra, former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen and former world silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi (51kg, Team A).
Every gold-medallist will be awarded US$ 2,500, while silver and bronze medallists in each event will win US$ 1,000 and US$ 500, respectively.