Exposure camp for Indian boxers in France

Having obtained visa clearance, a ten-member Indian boxing team sets off for France on a training-cum-exposure tour on Saturday.

The ten-day preparation tour comes ahead of the World Championships in Baku, from September 22-October 10.

Revealing details of the tour, Indian Boxing Federation secretary Brigadier Murlidharan Raja said, "France has a set-up similar to the London Olympics 2011. So, basically, from the Olympics point of view, we have decided to send the team to France for an exposure tour-cum-training programme."

There is a lot of emphasis on the World Championships, as it will be the first Olympic qualifier tournament and a lot of countries will try to get their qualification done in the first attempt itself.

Chief coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu tried to mellow the pressure, saying, "There is a lot of pressure on the boxers, but it is manageable. I feel some pressure is always better."

But he is optimistic about the exposure camp in France.

"Training in France will help the team in overcoming the initial hiccups. Nearly 15-16 teams are expected to train in France before the World Championships. There will be joint trainings and sparring sessions. It will be beneficial to the boys."

The team:

49kg: Devendro

52kg: Suranjoy Singh

56kg: Akhil Kumar

60kg: Jai Bhagwan

64kg: Manoj Kumar

69kg: Vikas Krishan

75kg: Vijender

81kg: Dinesh Kumar

91kg: Manpreet Singh

91+kg: Paramjeet Samota