Boxer training suffers from politics

KATHMANDU, March 31: Nepal´s last hope of qualifying for the London Olympics in boxing has suffered a setback before the commencement of the Asian qualifying tournament because Nepali boxers have been hard hit by the recent confrontation between the two factions of Nepal Boxing Association (NBA).
Asian Games bronze medalist Deepak Maharjan, who has been selected for the Asian qualifying tournament to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from April 4 to 13, says that he couldn´t get proper training because the officials of NBA were busy fighting for NBA presidency.
“Training at the home ground alone is not sufficient for the Olympic qualifiers so I hadrequested them to provide abroad training. I was willing to bear the expensesmyself, but they didn´t listen to me as theywere busy campaigning for the election,” said Maharjan, referring to the third general assembly of NBA that controversially elected Rajiv Shrestha as its president on February 18.
Chief coach of boxing, Prachanda Sharma, admits that a top boxer like Maharjan doesnot have a sparring partner in the country and that he requires a higher level of training in order to succeed in the Olympic qualifiers.
Due to lack of proper training and exposure, the national champion couldn´t make it through the World Boxing Qualifiers held in Baku, Azerbaijan some months ago.
However, Maharjan still has a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics this time with a top three finish, if he is able to keep up the spirit and level of fitness that helped him win bronze medal in the 2010 Asian Games, where he saved the blushes of Nepal by becoming the only player to win a medal for the country.
Chief coach Sharma says that Maharjan hasimproved consistently since the 2010 Asian Games but the only thing that he lacks is exposure.
“It is not because of his fitness level that he lost during the World Boxing Qualifiers but because he didn´t have good exposure for such a top level contest. The fact is that Deepak has improved a lot in the recent days,” said Sharma.
Maharjan, too, sees a silver lining in the face of adversity.
“The contest in Baku was the highest level qualifiers. As far as the Asian qualifying tournament is concerned, I hope my experience will count,” says Maharjan.
“Although I haven´t got proper support from NBA, I am confident that my own efforts will pay off,” said an optimistic Maharjan, who has been undergoing personal training under the guidance of coach Raj Shrestha.
NBA got into controversy after then general secretary Rajiv Shrestha was elected as president after the other factionof NBA led by Rabiraj Thapa, the president of the previous committee, walked out of the election process over differences in thenumber of voters.
The top guns of NBA were at loggerheads long before the election, ignoring the needs of the players, as claimed by Maharjan. “I had sought support from both Shrestha and Thapa but both were busy in the run-up to the election,” said Maharjan.
Maharjan, along with coach Anup Lama willbe leaving for Kazakhstan for the Asian qualifying tournament on Monday.
If Maharjan succeeds, he will be the third Nepali, after taekwondo aces Sangina Baidhya and Deepak Bista, to qualify for the Olympics through competitive means.
Published on 2012-03-31 06:00:26