Indian women’s boxing coach Bhaskar Bhatt resigned from his position only three months before the Asian Games scheduled in Hangzhou, China. It comes as shocking news for the sports fraternity and especially the women’s boxing fraternity as the performance of the pugilists were very good during his stint.
The upcoming Asian Games will be a very signification event as it will be the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Bhaskar Bhatt has been transferred by Sports Authority of India (SAI) back to Rohtak’s National Centre of Excellence in boxing,” said an official with the Boxing Federation of India. Bhatt has remained tight-lipped in this situation.
Despite the development, the women’s boxing contingent continue their preparation for the upcoming Asian Games. The preparations are conducted in Patiala’s National Institute of Sports since April.
Bhatt was appointed as the head coach of the Indian women’s boxing contingent back in November 2021. Since then the women pugilists have done really well in national and international events. There are plenty of new stars rising up in the sport who want to be as good as Nikhat Zareen or Mary Kom. Overall, his stint with the female pugilists was a very fruitful one.
The boxers did extremely well in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships which was held in New Delhi in March. The likes of Nitu Ghangas (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), and Saweety Boora (81kg) bagged gold medals in their respective weight categories in a record-breaking event for Indian boxing.
Bhatt played an important role in preparing these female pugilists who have gained worldwide acknowledgement. He worked very hard in their preparations as well. Nikhat Zareen last year credited Bhatt for giving her confidence at the Strandja Memorial which was her breakout tournament. She bagged the gold medal in that event.
“Before going into the wing for the semifinal bout against Tokyo Olympics silver medallist (Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey) in the Strandja Memorial (I had lost to her in the 2021 Bosphorous event with a unanimous decision) Bhatt Sir asked me to box like a champion without resting my hands. My confidence got boosted and I was determined to give 100 per cent. After in the first round I led 3-2, in the second round I led 4-1 and was excited to win it. It was unbelievable. I was very emotional,” Zareen had said in an interaction with Sportstar.
So it will remain a mystery why he decided to resign from his post just a few months before the big event. It remains to be seen if that affects the pugilists heading into a very busy phase of the year.
