2021 Asian Boxing Championships: Indian pugilists arrive in Dubai

Bengaluru, May 22: A 31-member strong Indian contingent led by the six-time world champion Mary Kom and defending champion Amit Panghal arrived in Dubai for the 2021 Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Championships, which is jointly hosted by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and the UAE Boxing Federation.

Under a special circumstance, as part of being the official delegation for the continental showpiece, the Indian contingent comprising 19 players and members of support staff flew on a special bio bubble SpiceJet aircraft from Delhi.

"Indian contingent has landed in Dubai and reached the hotel. Two rounds of RT-PCR test have been conducted--one at the airport and the other at the hotel. Indian team flew on SpiceJet flight under the air bubble agreement with all necessary and relevant permissions.

The BFI is grateful to Indian Embassy and Ambassador Pavan Kapoor for obtaining the necessary permissions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs an Internal cooperation, Government of UAE and ensuring the contingent's participation at the 2021 ASBC Asian Championships. BFI is also thankful to UAE Government and ASBC for their help and support," a BFI statement said.

𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗗𝗨𝗕𝗔𝗜 🛬

🇮🇳 contingent has landed safely in Dubai earlier today and our boxers are all set for upcoming ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships 💪🏻#boxing#AsianEliteBoxingChampionships#StayHomeStaySafe pic.twitter.com/8DRVlUk81a

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) May 22, 2021

The seven Indian Olympic-bound pugilists, including Panghal (52kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) alongside the other Indian boxers will be seen competing at the ASBC Championships which is set to witness a high-voltage action in presence of top Asian and Olympic qualified boxers from all the major continental boxing powerhouses.

Boxer Vinod Tanwar (49kg), who was initially named as part of the 20-member squad for the ASBC Championships, has been withdrawn after he was tested positive for COVID-19.

Tanwar withdrawn from Asian Championships squad after testing positive

In the last edition of the Championships held in Bangkok in 2019, Indian team returned with an unprecedented 13 medals including two gold.

The 2021 ASBC Championships begin on Monday (May 24) and will go on till June 1.

Indian squad:

Men:

Amit Panghal (52kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (56kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Shiva Thapa (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Narender (+91kg).

Women: Monika (48kg), MC Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi (54kg).

(With inputs from BFI Media)