Male Boxers and Support Staff at NIS Patiala Recover from COVID-19

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The Indian men’s team boxers and their support staff, who tested positive for COVID-19 at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala last month, have recovered from the infection, a fortnight after being quarantined.

A total of 12, including chief coach C A Kuttappa, had tested positive in the last week of March and placed in quarantine with little or no symptoms. The boxers who were infected included Asian championships silver medallist Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora among others.

“We have come out negative in tests conducted on Monday. Fully recovered now, all of us,” Kuttappa told PTI.

Their infections had come to light after Sports Authority of India conducted 313 tests at the elite training base, which also houses track-and-field athletes and weightlifters among others.

None of those who were infected in the boxing contingent included Olympic-bound pugilists.

Nine Indian boxers — five men and four women — have so far qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo. The next major assignment for the Japan-bound group is the Asian Championships in Delhi from May 21 to 31.

The women’s team for that has already been announced and will be spearheaded by six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg).

The other women boxers who have made the cut for Tokyo apart from Mary Kom are Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg).

Among the men, Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) have qualified for the July-August quadrennial showpiece, which had to be postponed by a year because of the pandemic.

Panghal and Kaushik on Wednesday left for a competition in Russia starting April 19 in St Petersburg.

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