Indian Boxers at London 2012

Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, and they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

Muhammad Ali

India is fielding the largest boxing contingent for London Olympics 2012, with 8 boxers standing in the ring with the Indian flag. 7 men and a woman boxer MC Mary Kom will form the Indian boxing contingent.

Boxing is the field in which India has performed considerably well in the past 4 years. While Vijender Singh, the Olympic Bronze Medalist from Beijing 2008 will be the flag bearer and the poster boy of Indian Boxing Contingent, women boxer and 5 times World Champion M C Mary Kom is a serious medal prospect for India. 

The Indian boxing team has a perfect mix of experienced campaigners as well as young blood. Experienced campaigners like Vijender Singh and Mary Kom will provide the guidance to the young players like Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan Yadav who have made it to the mega event at the small age of 18 and 20 respectively. Boxers in the name of Manoj Kumar, Jai Bhagwan and Sumit Sangwan have the zeal and gusto to stand tall in the medals tally and improve India’s overall performance.

Medal Hopefuls in the Boxing Arena for India

Vijender Singh- This 26 year old boxer has showcased his ability in the 2008 edition of the games by winning a bronze medal in the middle-weight category; he will surely want to change the color this time. After the performance at Beijing, he went on to win bronze medal in World Amateur Boxing Championship and Bronze medal and Gold medal in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games 2010 respectively. Vijender Singh is surely the Brand Ambassador of Boxing in India and gold in London will be valuable for him and the sport as well.

M C Mary Kom- Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, 29 year old boxer from Manipur is the senior most member of the Boxing contingent. The five time world champion will be the favorite for the medal in the flyweight category of Women’s Boxing in London 2012. Though the star boxer will not be contending in her usual light flyweight categeory in London the Bronze medal winner from Guangzhou Asian Games 2010, she will still be a tough challenge for the opponents in Flywieght category.

Indian Boxing is certainly on a rise but there is still a long way to go. Young boxers like Shiva Thapa may not be the favorites in this edition of the Olympics; they will surely rise in the years to come. It’s the time when the every player puts his best foot forward and wins a medal for India. 

Hockey- The Sport with Golden History

Can the sport with the Golden history turn back the Sands of Time and reclaim the lost glory in this year's London 2012. 

They may have failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics 2008. They may not be the best team of hockey in the World and they may not be the favorite team contesting in the Hockey Field of Riverbank arena in London but the boys with the curved sticks are sanguine about their destiny in London this year. Bharat Chetri  the Indian Captain when asked about his thoughts on leading the side in London 2012 said that it was sad not to have qualified for Beijing 2008 and having made it to London his team is up to make up for it. All the other members of the team are absorbed in the same feeling of optimism.

India currently is ranked 10^th in the world and expecting a walk through by the Indian team in the competition would be asking for much but a enhanced performance by the team will surely be an inspiration for this reborn hockey team. A glorious past and a desire to prove itself, Indian hockey will be more than motivated in the Olympics this time. Hockey has always been compared with cricket in India and will continue to be but a good performance at the centre stage of sport can bear out to be beneficial for the sport’s fate in the nation. Cricket might seem dwarfed in front of Hockey at the world’s prospects but one won’t deny that it is something more than a sport in India. This is a chance for hockey to move out of the shadows of cricket and prove its existence.

Playing against the top teams of the world would be challenging for this hockey team but as it is said in world of sports, everyday is a new day. India has had a glorious past in the field of hockey. Winning 11 medals with 8 gold medals, Indian hockey had shown its gut and glory to the world in the past. Though this team, now, is dependent on foreign coaches for learning the modern techniques, the proud descendents of Dhyan Chand can stun the world any moment. Bharat Chetri in a television interview said that if his team plays to its planning and all the players put in their 100 percent in the team then there would be no big trouble for them to reach the semi-finals.

India in London Olympics 2012 is placed in Pool B with Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, New Zealand and Belgium. Indian Team would be instigating its campaign against Netherlands which is ranked third in the world. Though rankings don’t support India’s chances, hockey is never played on statistics. India was clearly the best team in the Hockey Qualifiers held in New Delhi as they not only defeated teams they bet them with margins. Present form of this hockey team and the wishes of 121 million people would certainly help them start on a high note.

Indian Hockey team for London 2012 stands as.

Bharat Chettri (C, GK) Sardar Singh (VC) P. R. Sreejesh (GK) Sandeep Singh V. R. Raghunath Ignace Tirkey Manpreet Singh Birendra Lakra Sowmarpet Sunil Danish Mujtaba Shivendra Singh Tushar Khandker Gurwinder Singh Chandi Dharamvir Singh S. K. Uthappa

Reserves

       Sarvanjit Singh

       Kothajit Singh

                                                                                                     Lineup Courtesy- Wikipedia.org 

Stage Set for India to Shine in the London Olympics

People say that the team for London 2012 is the best team from India for Olympics. But the question is can this team put up the best ever performance.

After four years of the mesmerizing Beijing Olympics 2008, the sporting extravaganza and the mother of all sporting events is good to be back. London, this time, would be the centre stage of the world of sports. While China showcased its gut and glory in the XXIX edition of the games, over two hundred nations would be contesting for the same this time. 10,500 athletes, 302 events in 26 sports and an expected audience of over 4 billion, London 2012 promises to be much more than just a sporting event.

India will be visiting this mega fiesta with many wishes and wants. India’s performance in Beijing was the best of the Indian contingent in the history of Olympic Games with one gold and a couple of Bronze medal, 2012 promises to be much more.  The scholars of the sport

While the Beijing show was more of an encouragement for Indian athletes, London could be the place where India rises in the world of sports. The likes of Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar have paved new paths to success in their fields of sports. Boxers were being carved out from young talents like Devendro Singh and Shiva Thapa when Vijender Singh won a bronze for India in Beijing. When a Sushil Kumar toured from an ‘akhada’ in Baprola village to the podium in Beijing, many others living in unknown corners of the nation were motivated.believe that the Indian Contingent for London 2012 is the best contingent ever. The number of serious medal prospects is higher this time as compared to the other Indian contingents in the past. 80 athletes, who have proved their worth at the global level, will be contesting in 57 events belonging to 13 sports categories, with the only aim ‘going for gold’.

Besides the talent and the hard work of the players other factors also support India’s chances for this Olympic. Commonwealth Games came to India in 2010 and brought with itself the necessary infrastructure and equipments to train athletes in the best possible ways. The government has spent considerable money to bring foreign coaches to India who acquainted the players with the latest technique of the games. A mix of experience and young talent is the recipe for success in any field specifically sports which is evident in this Indian delegation.

London 2012 may be the next step for India to move from being a Cricket playing nation to a multi-sporting nation. This is also a chance for sports like boxing, hockey or wrestling to come out of the shadow of Cricket and prove their individual existence. The Indian national anthem playing at the sporting arena is wished for, and 121 crore people are waiting for shining medals. It is then when we call India Shining. 

Cover July 2012