Vijender Singh: Our boxers will be demotivated because Olympics is ultimate destination

Vijender Singh

India's 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medal-winning boxer, Vijender Singh reacted in disbelief on Friday to the news that boxing may be dropped from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "This is shocking and will be devastating for India and our boxers," Vijender told mid-day from his home in New Delhi after boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon were left out of the initial list of 28 disciplines in the 2028 programme.

Three new sports

Skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing have taken their place for now and it will be up to the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to approve this exclusion at a meeting in February 2022. The three sports, however, can have a "pathway for inclusion" at the 2023 annual meeting of the IOC members, chief Thomas Bach said. The IOC has demanded reforms in boxing and weightlifting, where corruption and doping have been issues, while the modern pentathlon body has been asked to do away with equestrian jumping.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medal-winning boxer Lovlina Borgohain. Pic/Getty Images

Vijender felt that the government of India must intervene in the matter. "I hope the Indian government takes up this issue sternly with the IOC and puts pressure on them because boxing is a global sport. It's not like it's played by just 10 or 15 countries. Boxing has been part of international competitions for centuries," added Vijender, an Asian Games gold medallist and former World Championship medallist.

India's big loss

"Our young boxers will be demotivated because Olympics is the ultimate destination for any boxer. There are hundreds of boxers across the country, who are giving their blood and sweat in training only to live that Olympic dream. Now, they won't give their 100 per cent. As a nation, India has won many international medals in boxing, the latest being Lovlina Borgohain [bronze at Tokyo 2020], who followed in the footsteps of the legendary MC Mary Kom [bronze at London 2012]. If boxing is not part of the Olympics, so many dreams will be shattered," added Vijender, who has an impressive 12-1 win-loss record in professional boxing.