Were Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Boxing Team Fit Enough to Win Medals at Paris Olympics?

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In a startling revelation, the director coaching of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said he wasn't consulted by the national governing body in boxing in India about the preparation of the Paris-bound Indian boxing team.

Rajesh Bhandari, Director of Coaching of BFI, revealed that he wasn't involved in monitoring or preparation of the national team for the Olympic Games, which included star-studded names such as Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain.

"My name was there as director coaching but I was never consulted by the office to monitor the national camps in preparation for the Paris Olympic Games," Bhandari disclosed. "The BFI office was directly monitoring the Olympic Games camps in India as well on foreign soil."

Despite having the luxury of 11 support staff (5 coaches, 2 physios, 2 team officials, 1 team doctor and 1 strength and conditioning coach) the Indian team failed to live up to its expectations at the Summer Games and returned empty-handed from Paris.

The boxers also got ample foreign exposure including a pre-Olympic Games preparation camp in Germany (Saarbrucken). Apart from Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, the other four members of the boxing team were Amit Panghal, Nishant Dev, Preeti Panwar and Jaismine Lamboriya.

Nikhat and Lovline were considered to be the big favourites to win medals given their recent international exploits, which included back-to-back World Championships titles. Lovlina however, lost her quarterfinal bout to Chinese boxer Li Qian 1-4 while Nikhat lost her pre-quarters bout 5-0 to Wu Yu of China. Nikhat later claimed she didn't have meals to reduce weight and didn't have the energy to compete in the pre-quarters.

While Lovlina suffered back pain issues days before the Summer Games, Preeti Panwar, who was unwell during the pre-Olympic Games camp in Germany, lost her pre-quarterfinal bout 3-2. Jaismine lost her preliminary round match 5-0. In the men's group, Amit Panghal failed to progress beyond the pre-quarterfinal as he lost 1-4 while Nishant Dev lost his quarterfinal bout by split verdict too.

Before the Paris Olympics, Panghal opted to practice at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre in Shilaroo near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, while other five boxers including Dev went to Germany.

Calls for scrutiny on boxers and BFI

BFI set up a high-performance monitoring committee on January 10, 2024. Bhandari was chairman, while Jaslal Pradhan was one of the members to evaluate national coaching camps and submit a report to Hemanta Kumar Kalita (BFI secretary). Pradhan, who is chairman of the coaches commission of BFI claimed he wasn't involved in the monitoring of the national coaching camps.

Pradhan said he was expecting a better performance in Paris. "If the Indian boxing team could win one medal at the 2020 Tokyo and three years later weren't able to repeat their performance, it indicates there must have been something wrong somewhere?" he asked.

Pradhan further added, saying he was chairman of the coaches commission but wasn't involved in the appointment of coaches for national camps.

"I wasn't taken in confidence when appointing an Indian or foreign expert to oversee the national camp," Pradhan said over the phone from Sikkim. "The BFI office was managing everything and we were not kept in the loop. Pradhan said he was clueless when BFI's high-performance director (Bernard Dunne) quit his job early in March this year further disrupting the preparation of the Indian team."

"Preparation of the Paris Olympic Games should have been monitored every 15 days, it was suggested. But we don't know whether it happened or not. We weren't aware how fit were the Paris-bound Indian boxing team to compete in a highly competitive field at the 2024 Olympic Games," added Pradhan when asked if the boxing team was fit for the Paris Olympics.

The dismal performance of the Indian boxing team at the Paris 2024 Olympics has cast a shadow over the nation's Olympic hopes, prompting serious questions about the preparation and management of the athletes. The revelation that key figures like Rajesh Bhandari and Jaslal Pradhan were not consulted or involved in critical decisions raises concerns about the effectiveness of the oversight and the communication within the Boxing Federation of India.

With star athletes like Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain unable to meet expectations, it's clear that the issues plaguing the Indian boxing setup run deeper than just performance on the day. The failures in Paris should serve as a wake-up call for Indian sports administration.