NEW DELHI: India’s record-breaking boxing campaign at the Commonwealth Games has generated plenty of optimism, but the celebrations will quickly give way to a far sterner test when attention shifts to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from Sept 19 to Oct 4. After returning from Glasgow with a historic haul of seven gold and three silver medals, India’s boxers now head into what many within the sport regard as the closest thing to the Olympics.The CWG triumph underlined the country’s growing depth, particularly in women’s boxing. Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) struck gold, while Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Ankush Panghal (80kg) topped the podium in the men’s competition. Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain, Jadumani Singh and Narender Berwal added silver medals.The challenge in Aichi-Nagoya, however, will be on an entirely different scale. Unlike the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games will feature continental powerhouses such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and North Korea — nations that have consistently dominated the World Championships and the Olympics. Uzbek stars Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov and Bobo-Usmon Baturov, along with Kazakhstan’s Kairat Yeraliyev and Ablaikhan Zhussupov, are expected to headline a field packed with world-class talent.India will also be without two of its Commonwealth champions. Jaismine (57kg) and Arundhati (70kg) will miss out because their weight categories do not feature in the Asian Games programme, depriving the country of two genuine medal prospects.“The Asian Games for us is like the Olympics,” Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh said. “The best teams in the world today are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and India, and all three are in Asia. Add a strong Chinese contingent and you understand why it is much tougher. You can’t replicate this (CWG) performance at the Asian Games. But if you win a sizeable number of medals at the Asian Games, you can be hopeful of winning medals at the Olympics too.”Women’s head coach Santiago Nieva shared a similar assessment while insisting the team remains on the right path.“We can’t guarantee that we will win gold all the time, but we are on the right track. We know how strong the field will be at the Asian Games. The boxers are aware that they can’t sit on their success,” he said.India had returned with one silver and three bronze medals from the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. The Glasgow CWG showcased the strides the boxing contingent has made. But it’ll be Aichi-Nagoya that is going to reveal whether the progress is enough to challenge Asia’s finest and signal genuine medal potential for the 2028 Olympics.
