Rookie Devendro in boxing squad

The 20-year-old Devendro beat the likes of Asian Championship silver-medallists Amandeep Singh and Thokchom Nanao Singh in the light fly weight 49kg selection trials to be picked for the biggest event of his nascent career.

“I am very surprised at being picked. I just wanted to give my best at the trials but I didn’t expect to be picked as I was faced with very established rivals. This will be the biggest competition of my career and I am looking forward to doing well in it,” said the Manipuri youngster, the national youth champion.

National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu called it a strong team with the potential of not just securing Olympic berths but also winning medals at the event.

The World Championship, scheduled to be held in Azerbaijan capital Baku from September 22 to October 10, is the first Olympic qualifying event from where all quaterfinalists will make the cut for the London Games. The second and final Olympic Qualification Tournament for Asia will be held in Kazakhstan in March 2012.

The Indian team will be proceeding for a training camp to France from September 10 to September 21 prior to their participation in the World Championships.

Meanwhile, just days after the Indian Boxing Federation had complained about delay in implementation of a government scheme and non-payment of incentives to coaches, the Sports Ministry has promised to ‘resolve these issues’ as soon as possible.

IBF secretary general PK Muralidharan Raja was called for a meeting by Sports Minister Ajay Maken after the federation’s recent complaint that a government scheme for procuring infrastructure was not benefitting the sport.

Raja had also stated that the coaches who groomed Indian boxers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in which Vijender Singh bagged a bronze and two others reached quarterfinals, have not yet been paid their dues.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Raja said Maken has promised to ensure an early resolution of the matter.

The team: L Devendro Singh (49kg), Suranjoy Singh (52kg), Akhil Kumar (56kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Vijender Singh (75kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg), Manpreet Singh (91kg), Paramjeet Samota (+91kg).