India's Olympics bronze-medallist boxer Vijender Singh says lack of dedicated facilities for the sport in the country make training difficult for the players, but hopes things to be in place by 2012.

Vijender rues lack of boxing facility in India

Vijender said the scorching heat makes training tougher for them without an air conditioned complex, but that, however, does not deter him from practicing vigorously for the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games where he is eyeing a gold medal.

"We lack the dedicated facilities for boxing and by this time we should be having one," Vijender said.

"It would have been nice if we would have at least an air-conditioned complex as in this weather one sweats a lot. It does not stop us from training but it definitely makes thing tougher."

"There is no doubt that the facilities for boxing are improving but they are far from being the best. Hopefully by 2012 everything will be ready.

On the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, Vijender said: "We have been training at NIS Patiala. One of our team has gone to Kazakhstan. We will be playing in the national championships shortly. So yes, we are doing our best. My aim is to go for gold in the Commonwealth Games."

Fellow boxer Akhil Kumar is equally excited about the Games and says he wants to make up for the medal he could not win in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"We are practising three times a day in Patiala and we are looking forward to win gold medals for our country," he said. "Opponents from every country is my competitor. Everyone prepares for the best performance in the ring and we cannot underestimate anyone."

"One punch changes the flow of the game, so timing and luck play an important role for winning the bouts. In boxing, stamina, power and hard work are key to success."

u00a0

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels