The intense action of the 7th Elite Men’s National Boxing Championship delivered as promised on the first day of the prestigious event at the SAI Indoor Hall here today.
Forty-one bouts across the 13 categories were held today, shared across two boxing rings.
Three Meghalayan pugilists were involved today, unfortunately all on the losing side.
While Banjop Nongkhlaw (51-54kg bantamweight) lost by knockout to Mohammed Bilal of Telangana in the first round, Balnas Sangma went the distance against his Goan opponent Nikhil Gaonkar, losing the exhausting 67-71kg light middleweight bout on points. That was also the same result for Justerwell Jyrwa in his middleweight 71-75kg fight against Abhishek Shaw of Bengal.
Tomorrow will be another big day, with the action starting from 11am.
Earlier, the championship was declared open by the chief guest, Secretary General of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) Hemanta Kumar Kalita. He informed that there are a total of 398 boxers from 37 states, territories and sports boards.
“This is a very important event for you,” he said to the boxers. “Medal winners will go to a national coaching camp and those boxers who are in Olympic weight categories will then travel to Italy for the Olympic qualifiers.”
Director of Sports Isawanda Laloo said the championship is a platform for state boxers to showcase their talent and learn from the best. There is a huge boxing talent pool in the state and the numbers have grown through the efforts of the MBA, she added, with many strong performances in zonal and regional events.
Laloo also paid tribute to great Meghalaya boxers-turned-coaches like Torak Kharpran and Roshni Bhusal, who have both coached Indian national pugilists. The organisers took the opportunity of this esteemed event to felicitate them both with mementoes of appreciation.
The Director also informed that the state government and BFI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the federation to further help build Meghalaya’s base in boxing. She also spoke about the Elite Pathway Programme that is being used in collaboration with the MSOA to identify youths with sporting potential.
“I hope this event helps us groom our talent further. Our youth will certainly be hugely inspired,” Laloo said, adding, “And I look forward to seeing many of you reach the Paris Olympics next year.”
Working President of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, John F Kharshiing noted in his speech that Meghalaya has hosted national and international boxing events in the past and said he hopes that Meghalaya will produce national champions in boxing
MSOA General Secretary Finely L Pariat, Assistant Director of SAI Shillong PS Chauhan and President of the Assam Boxing Association Kamal Goyary were also present on the occasion.
