‘Lack of sparring did Jitender in’

While most ardent Indian sports followers were disappointed with the way Jitender Kumar’s hopes came crashing down when he lost his 81-...

While most ardent Indian sports followers were disappointed with the way Jitender Kumar’s hopes came crashing down when he lost his 81-kg light-heavy bout to Ukraine’s Andriy Fedchuck despite trailing by just one point (11-12) at the Athens Olympics, Dronacharya Awardee and former national coach Om Prakash Bhardwaj, who watched the bout on television, gives reasons for the Indian boxer’s ouster.

‘‘Agreed, the Ukrainian boxer was landing his punches from a distance. But he always landed them on the right spot – Jitender’s cheeks. The reason why the Indian started bleeding so profusely was his cheek had become very soft as he had done very little sparring sessions during his training. Therefore, when it becomes an easy target, it’s more likely that the cheeks crack quickly. That’s what happened to Jitender,’’ Bhardwaj said.

‘‘I feel the main reason for Jitender’s early exit was lack of sparring sessions during training. In fact, I remember some of the boxers complaining that there were not enough boxers for sparring. When a boxer does not have enough sparring sessions, his toleration power becomes less. Jitender’s skin was not conditioned enough to take such hard punches,’’ Bhardwaj said.

Bhardwaj also questioned Jitender asking for his personal coach Ashok Pawar during the pre-Olympic camp. ‘‘It showed he had no faith in the national coach. Ashok Pawar is not a qualified coach. Similarly, another boxer, Akhil, also had left the national camp and trained in Bhiwani saying he was more comfortable training there. These had left a bad taste in the mouth, ’’ Bhardwaj said, and questioned the reason for employing a foreign coach only a month before the start of the Games.