Boxers Kaushik, Kumar to skip Asian meet due to Covid

NEW DELHI: Olympic-bound boxers Manish Kaushik and Satish Kumar will skip the Asian Boxing Championships starting May 21 in Dubai as they haven't fully recovered from Covid-19.

"It is good news for us that Kaushik's latest Covid-19 report is negative. But since he hasn't started normal training, it has been decided that he will skip the Asian meet," a coach associated with the national camp told IANS from Patiala.

While Kaushik has qualified for Olympics in men's 63kg, Kumar will compete in men's 91 kg category.

Both boxers are attending the national camp at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

The 25-year-old Kaushik began the 2021 season with an impressive victory in an invitational boxing tournament in Spain in March.

According to the national team coach, Kaushik will resume training at moderate intensity this week. "We will start at 30 to 40 percent and gradually increase the load. We aren't in a hurry as the main focus is to perform well at the Tokyo Olympic Games," added the coach.

Kumar, 32, has already started training but is yet to train at 100 percent intensity. "He is not fit for competition so it was decided to give him a break," added the coach.

The Indian team members will leave for Dubai on May 22 as their bouts start from May 24. IANS

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