The Boxing Federation of India has humbly denied Indian boxer Amit Panghal after the star demanded a personal trainer and physio to boost his preparations for the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The Boxing Federation laid down those rules because of the phobia of being loaded with a similar request from other experienced boxers as reasons for denying his request.

The Federation said that the current coaching team, which comprises of professionals like Santiago Nieva, who is the director, C.A. Kuttappa, Dharmendra Yadav and other coaches are well equipped and experienced to the training, and conditional needs of senior national campers and Tokyo hopefuls.

Amit Panghal, one of the country’s biggest hope in boxing for the Tokyo Olympics, has requested that his childhood coach Anil Kumar Dhankar and experienced Physio Dr. Rohit Kashyap join the camp in Bellary Karnataka till the games in Tokyo kicks off.

However, the Boxing Federation coaches commission and selection committee members have expressed their reservations in approving any move, which not only posed as a threat to the powerful coaching fundamentals of the Federation but also could lead to the unwanted charges of favoritism by other boxers.

There are reports that the Boxing Federation was ready to test Dhankar with the youth under-19 boxers category before promoting him to the senior ranks.  But the exercise will be done ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

In addition to the denial of the request by the BFI, they believe with just six months to the Tokyo Olympics, the time frame is too short for the employment of extra hands to prepare the boxer.

Besides, Santiago and his team have been doing an excellent job with Amit, and they[BFI] further went on to claim they do not know Dhankar’s coaching credentials.

Written by: Olumide Akinnifesi