7-strong Indian boxing team for President`s Cup

V Santosh Kumar (64kg) and Chhote Lal Yadav (56kg) will spearhead a seven-strong Indian challenge in the 21st President`s Cup International Boxing Tournament in Jakarta.

New Delhi: Asian Games silver medallist V Santosh Kumar (64kg) and South Asian Games gold-medallist Chhote Lal Yadav (56kg) will spearhead a seven-strong Indian challenge in the 21st President`s Cup International Boxing Tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia from July 2 to 9.

The Indonesian Amateur Boxing Federation (Pertina) is hosting the President`s Cup next month after a seven-year hiatus. The tournament, which was scrapped in 2004, will witness competitors from almost 30 countries, including three local teams (Garuda, Elang and Rajawali) vying for the top honours. National Coach GS Sandhu believes this tournament will be a good opportunity and a big learning curve for the participating boxers."Tournaments like these provide a perfect platform to better acquaint our boys with the new scoring system. Moreover, if they excel in these competitions it is a big motivating factor for then," he said. The Indian Boxing Federation held trials at NIS Patiala and the selection committee comprised Sandhu, Cuban Coach BI Fernandez, Arjuna awardees Mehtab Singh, Mohd. Ali Qamar, Jitender Kumar and Padam Bahadur Mal.The squad: Gaurav Bidhuri (49kg), Santosh Harijan (52kg), Chhote Lal Yadav (56kg), Neeraj Goyat (60kg), V Santosh Kumar (64kg), Lakhbir Singh (69kg), Jasveer Singh (81kg). PTI