Monday, November 29, 1999

Havana high: Savon-inspired Indian boxers ready for Games

News posted by www.newsinfoline.com

All 13 Indian boxers, who made a fortnight-long trip to Cuba for training-cum-competition returned home on Monday. Not only was it a rewarding trip in terms of the medal haul as they won eight silver and three bronze medals, the boxers also got to interact with a legend —Cuban Felix Savon Fabre, the three-time Olympic champion who went on to win the world title on six occasions.For Akhil Kumar it was a dream come true as he met his idol. "We were simply bowled over by his demeanour. His down-to-earth qualities are what one should imbibe," the Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.As for lessons learnt from the interaction, boxer Suranjoy Singh said, "He talked about the positive and negative aspects of open or close guards. He said he preferred an open guard but advised boxers who are short to keep it tight."For the other boxers in the squad, Savon's simple, down-to-earth ways were simply jaw-dropping.In fact, the Cuban, who never turned professional despite being a top amateur boxer, even preferred travelling with the Indians to Guantanamo from Havana.During the trip, Akhil reminisced, the 42-year-old kept joking and sharing his Olympic experiences. Dinesh Kumar, who went to Havana for the first time, said the Cuban experience could usher in better days for Indian boxing."For the first time in my career, I faced Australian and Cuban boxers," Dinesh said. "I picked up some valuable points, like their foot movement and the way they box."Dinesh hopes the inputs will help him. National coach Gurbax Singh said training in Cuba would be helpful before the Commonwealth Games.Col P K Muralidharan Raja of the Indian Boxing Federation agreed with Singh; he said the trip was meant to help the pugilists learn the fundamentals of open guard."Most boxers in the Commonwealth are prone to open guard, while the Russian style to close guard," Raja said.For the record, Commonwealth champions Amandeep Singh, Suranjoy Singh, Jai Bhagwan and Dinesh Kumar were among those who made the finals of the six-team competition in Havana.India finished second, behind hosts Cuba.

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