Commonwealth Games 2018: Boxing contingent handed easy draw

After a lot of nerve-racking chaos with the no needle policy, India was cleared and the boxing contingent could heave a sigh of relief. Now there is one more reason for another relieved sigh as the boxers were handed a relatively comfortable draw. India's participation in boxing at the Gold Coast will begin with Manoj Kumar, the 2010 gold medallist, taking on Nigeria's Osita Umeh on 5th April. Mary Kom, who is taking part in her first and last Commonwealth Games will be assured of a medal after just one bout. Her 48 kg category has only eight categories and Mary is by far the favourite to win gold. She will play Scotland's Megan Gordon on the 8th of April. Vikas, who won gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria got a bye in the 75 kg category and is already in the last 16. Joining him with another bye is debutant Manish Kaushik in the 60kg category. In the 91 kg category, the small size of the draw has earned former Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar a place in the quarterfinals while in the 51 kg category, while CWG bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra is in the quarterfinals and will take on England's Lisa Whiteside on April 11. Taking on another English boxer will be India Open gold-medallist Lovlina Borgohain in the 69 kg category, after getting a first-round bye and ticket to the quarters. Former world and Asian champions L Sarita Devi (60kg) will begin against Kimberly Gittens, while India Open gold-medallist Amit Panghal (49kg) will face Ghana's Tette Sulemanu. 19-year-old Naman Tanwar, who is the youngest in the Indian boxing contingent, will fight Tanzania's Haruna Mhando in his opening bout on April 6th in the 91 kg category. In 56kg, Muhammed Hussamuddin will face Vanautu's Boe Warawara on April 7, while Gaurav Solanki will be up against Ghana's Annang Ampias in his opening bout on April 9. Pinki Janga, while in conversation with

The Bridge, ahead of the Commonwealth Games, suggested that the challenge in this edition of the CWG would be the number of African players who they have never encountered before. ALSO READ: There are Haryanvi girls, taking over the world The Indian boxers are slated to play a number of boxers from Africa and given the draw, it seems to be the only legitimate difficulty on their path. It's now for the boxers to make use of the easy draw.