India will host the Asian Boxing Championships for men and women in November-December this year, the national federation revealed on Monday, expressing confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic will be well and truly under control by that time.

India last hosted the men's Asian meet back in 1980 in Mumbai, while it conducted the women's event in 2003 in Hisar. The tournament became a combined event for men and women last year.

"We were awarded the hosting rights in February after a meeting of the Asian Boxing Confederation. The tournament will be held in November-December and the host city will be finalised after things normalise," Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) Executive Director R K Sacheti told PTI.

"It is an extraordinary situation no doubt but we are all hoping for this to be brought under control by June. Then another three-four months will go into resuming normal activities," he said.

The event is usually a biennial competition but has been held in consecutive years in the past.

"Bids were sought in January. The formal announcement by the Asian Boxing Confederation will be made once the COVID-19 situation improves a bit," Sacheti said.

Nothing, in recent memory, quite compares to the situation that the world is facing right now -- more than 100,000 deaths by the spread of a virus, which has no known cure or vaccination available at this point.

In India, the toll has crossed 300 and the number of positive cases is going up by hundreds everyday.

"The window we have kept for the championship allows us time to plan. The Olympic qualification programme is also likely to resume around November-December, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," Sacheti reasoned.

"So, if things can start rolling elsewhere, we can also conduct the championship. That's why we haven't zeroed in on a host city right now. That discussion will have to wait until the end of the lockdown," he added.

India's lockdown to curb the spread of the virus ends on Tuesday but is set to be extended as state governments battle a surge in positive cases.

The pandemic has shredded the international sports calendar with the two big-ticket events -- the Olympics and the European football Championships -- postponed to 2021 due to the global health crisis.

Training of athletes has been severely hampered and coaches have resorted to online tutorials, including in boxing.

"They (the boxers) are being looked after as best as we can under the circumstances. Coaches are keeping a close eye on their training," Sacheti said.

"They have adjusted quite well to the situation and made routines of their own. Quite a disciplined lot," he added.

So far, nine Indian boxers -- five men and four women -- have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

India will host the Asian Boxing Championships for men and women in November-December this year, the national federation revealed on Monday, expressing confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic will be well and truly under control by that time.

India will host the Asian Boxing Championships for men and women in November-December this year, the national federation revealed on Monday, expressing confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic will be well and truly under control by that time. India last hosted the men's Asian meet back in 1980 in Mumbai, while it conducted the women's event in 2003 in Hisar. The tournament became a combined event for men and women last year. "We were awarded the hosting rights in February after a meeting of the Asian Boxing Confederation. The tournament will be held in November-December and the host city will be finalised after things normalise," Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) Executive Director R K Sacheti told PTI. "It is an extraordinary situation no doubt but we are all hoping for this to be brought under control by June. Then another three-four months will go into resuming normal activities," he said. The event is usually a biennial competition but has been held in consecutive years in the past. "Bids were sought in January. The formal announcement by the Asian Boxing Confederation will be made once the COVID-19 situation improves a bit," Sacheti said. Nothing, in recent memory, quite compares to the situation that the world is facing right now -- more than 100,000 deaths by the spread of a virus, which has no known cure or vaccination available at this point. In India, the toll has crossed 300 and the number of positive cases is going up by hundreds everyday. "The window we have kept for the championship allows us time to plan. The Olympic qualification programme is also likely to resume around November-December, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," Sacheti reasoned. "So, if things can start rolling elsewhere, we can also conduct the championship. That's why we haven't zeroed in on a host city right now. That discussion will have to wait until the end of the lockdown," he added. India's lockdown to curb the spread of the virus ends on Tuesday but is set to be extended as state governments battle a surge in positive cases. The pandemic has shredded the international sports calendar with the two big-ticket events -- the Olympics and the European football Championships -- postponed to 2021 due to the global health crisis. Training of athletes has been severely hampered and coaches have resorted to online tutorials, including in boxing. "They (the boxers) are being looked after as best as we can under the circumstances. Coaches are keeping a close eye on their training," Sacheti said. "They have adjusted quite well to the situation and made routines of their own. Quite a disciplined lot," he added. So far, nine Indian boxers -- five men and four women -- have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

India to host Asian Boxing C'ship in Nov-Dec this year, BFI confident of COVID-19 storm passing

Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year, while <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/asian-boxing-championships-pooja-rani-wins-gold-medal-in-81-kg-category-213675">Pooja Rani</a> (81kg) finished on top among the women to bring a fine end to India's phenomenal campaign in the Asian Boxing Championships here Friday.&nbsp;

India ended the event with 13 medals -- two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals -- in the tournament which was held simultaneously for men and women for the first time.

Panghal, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year, defeated Korea's Kim Inkyu in a unanimous decision. He came into the tournament on the back of gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February in Bulgaria.

The 28-year-old Pooja, a silver medallist at the event in 2012, struck gold among the women by defeating China's Wang Lina.

The Haryana-pugilist took to boxing against the wishes of her father, who relented after a six months of pleadings by the boxer and her coaches in Bhiwani. She also has an Asian Games bronze medal, which she claimed in 2014.&nbsp;

However, national champion Deepak Singh (49kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) signed off with silver medals among the men after contrasting losses. In the women's draw, national champion Simrajit Kaur (64kg) ended with a silver medal.&nbsp;

The previous best by Indian men at this tournament was in 2009, when the team won a gold, two silver and four bronze and they equalled that performance this year.&nbsp;

Shiva Thapa (60kg), Ashish (69kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) claimed bronze medals among the men this time.&nbsp;

This was Panghal's maiden international competition since moving up to 52kg from the 49kg division earlier this year. Panghal had won a bronze in the 2015 edition of the event.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Asian Boxing Championships Update: 
India finish with 2 Gold, 4 Silver &amp; 7 Bronze Medals overall. 
Breakup: 
Men's: 1G, 3S, 3B 
Women's: 1G, 1S, 4B 
Out of 6 Finals today featuring Indian Boxers, India won 2 Gold medals (Amit Panghal &amp; Pooja Rani). <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsianBoxingChampionships?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsianBoxingChampionships</a> <a href="https://t.co/Nu410H2tb6">pic.twitter.com/Nu410H2tb6</a>
— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/India_AllSports/status/1121713243460739072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Up against a lanky opponent, who was willing to play the waiting game, Panghal started in his usual aggressive style. 
The strategy of stumping rivals with relentless attacks paid off against Inkyu and the Korean simply had no answer to Panghal's aggression.

The Indian managed to corner his rival quite often and his solid defences thwarted the feeble attempts at connecting by Inkyu.

Earlier, at the end of Deepak's highly contentious split loss to Nodirjon Mirzahmedov of Uzbekistan, the Indian contingent handed the referee the yellow card meant for seeking a review, which was introduced in the tournament on a trial basis this year.

However, India's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva told PTI that the gesture was merely to highlight "how wrong" the decision was.

"We cannot get the decision changed. Just a protest here," he said.

"The system will officially start in the world championships," added national coach CA Kuttappa.

Bisht, on the other hand, also lost to an Uzbek in Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov, a unanimous decision. The boxer from Uttarakhand fought with a bandage over his right eye but did not back down from going for the offensive.

The aggressive approach resulted in his wound, sustained in the semifinals, opening up just a minute into the third round. This made Bisht slightly defensive and allowed the Uzbek to edge ahead.

Earlier, Deepak also put up a gutsy performance that failed to find favour with the judges.

It was a bout in which both the boxers were mostly looking to counter-attack. Deepak's focus was getting his straight punches across, while Mirzahmedov looked to connect right hooks occasionally.

The Indian was a clear winner in the opening round but Mirzahmedov came back strongly in the second.

The Uzbek turned a shade defensive in the last three minutes, which gave Deepak a chance to assert himself. However, the final outcome was in favour of the Uzbek, much to the surprise of the Indian camp.

Later, Ashish went down to Kazakhstan's Tursynbay Kulakhmet in a unanimous decision.&nbsp;

In the women's finals, national champion Simranjit squared off against China's reigning world champion Dou Dan, before Pooja fought it out with Lina.&nbsp;

Kaur took the ring first and lost in a unanimous decision to Dan. The Indian had her oments, especially in the second round, but was no match to Dan's counter-attacks.&nbsp;

Rani was in action in the last Indian bout of the day and was grit personified in her battle against Lina.&nbsp;

She started rather slow but picked up momentum as the bout progressed to fetch a split verdict from the judges.&nbsp;

Settling for bronze medals among the women were veteran former champion L Sarita Devi (60kg), last edition's silver-medallist Manisha (54kg), former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and world silver-medallist Sonia Chahal (57kg).&nbsp;

Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year, while Pooja Rani (81kg) finished on top among the women to bring a fine end to India's phenomenal campaign in the Asian Boxing Championships here Friday.

Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year, while Pooja Rani (81kg) finished on top among the women to bring a fine end to India's phenomenal campaign in the Asian Boxing Championships here Friday. India ended the event with 13 medals -- two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals -- in the tournament which was held simultaneously for men and women for the first time. Panghal, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year, defeated Korea's Kim Inkyu in a unanimous decision. He came into the tournament on the back of gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February in Bulgaria. The 28-year-old Pooja, a silver medallist at the event in 2012, struck gold among the women by defeating China's Wang Lina. The Haryana-pugilist took to boxing against the wishes of her father, who relented after a six months of pleadings by the boxer and her coaches in Bhiwani. She also has an Asian Games bronze medal, which she claimed in 2014. However, national champion Deepak Singh (49kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) signed off with silver medals among the men after contrasting losses. In the women's draw, national champion Simrajit Kaur (64kg) ended with a silver medal. The previous best by Indian men at this tournament was in 2009, when the team won a gold, two silver and four bronze and they equalled that performance this year. Shiva Thapa (60kg), Ashish (69kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) claimed bronze medals among the men this time. This was Panghal's maiden international competition since moving up to 52kg from the 49kg division earlier this year. Panghal had won a bronze in the 2015 edition of the event. Asian Boxing Championships Update: India finish with 2 Gold, 4 Silver & 7 Bronze Medals overall. Breakup: Men's: 1G, 3S, 3B Women's: 1G, 1S, 4B Out of 6 Finals today featuring Indian Boxers, India won 2 Gold medals (Amit Panghal & Pooja Rani). #AsianBoxingChampionships pic.twitter.com/Nu410H2tb6 — India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) April 26, 2019 × Up against a lanky opponent, who was willing to play the waiting game, Panghal started in his usual aggressive style. The strategy of stumping rivals with relentless attacks paid off against Inkyu and the Korean simply had no answer to Panghal's aggression. The Indian managed to corner his rival quite often and his solid defences thwarted the feeble attempts at connecting by Inkyu. Earlier, at the end of Deepak's highly contentious split loss to Nodirjon Mirzahmedov of Uzbekistan, the Indian contingent handed the referee the yellow card meant for seeking a review, which was introduced in the tournament on a trial basis this year. However, India's High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva told PTI that the gesture was merely to highlight "how wrong" the decision was. "We cannot get the decision changed. Just a protest here," he said. "The system will officially start in the world championships," added national coach CA Kuttappa. Bisht, on the other hand, also lost to an Uzbek in Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov, a unanimous decision. The boxer from Uttarakhand fought with a bandage over his right eye but did not back down from going for the offensive. The aggressive approach resulted in his wound, sustained in the semifinals, opening up just a minute into the third round. This made Bisht slightly defensive and allowed the Uzbek to edge ahead. Earlier, Deepak also put up a gutsy performance that failed to find favour with the judges. It was a bout in which both the boxers were mostly looking to counter-attack. Deepak's focus was getting his straight punches across, while Mirzahmedov looked to connect right hooks occasionally. The Indian was a clear winner in the opening round but Mirzahmedov came back strongly in the second. The Uzbek turned a shade defensive in the last three minutes, which gave Deepak a chance to assert himself. However, the final outcome was in favour of the Uzbek, much to the surprise of the Indian camp. Later, Ashish went down to Kazakhstan's Tursynbay Kulakhmet in a unanimous decision. In the women's finals, national champion Simranjit squared off against China's reigning world champion Dou Dan, before Pooja fought it out with Lina. Kaur took the ring first and lost in a unanimous decision to Dan. The Indian had her oments, especially in the second round, but was no match to Dan's counter-attacks. Rani was in action in the last Indian bout of the day and was grit personified in her battle against Lina. She started rather slow but picked up momentum as the bout progressed to fetch a split verdict from the judges. Settling for bronze medals among the women were veteran former champion L Sarita Devi (60kg), last edition's silver-medallist Manisha (54kg), former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and world silver-medallist Sonia Chahal (57kg).

Asian Boxing Championships: Indian finish event with 13 medals

India's Pooja Rani has defeated reigning World Champion Wang Lina in final of Asian Boxing Championships on Friday to win an elusive gold medal in the 81 kg category.&nbsp;

The 28-year-old Pooja, a silver medallist at the event in 2012 knocked-out China's Wang Lina.&nbsp;

The Haryana-pugilist took to boxing against the wishes of her father, who relented after six months of pleadings by the boxer and her coaches in Bhiwani.&nbsp;

She also has an Asian Games bronze medal, which she claimed in 2014.&nbsp;

While in men's category,&nbsp;Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year.&nbsp;

Panghal, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year, defeated Korea's Kim Inkyu in a unanimous decision.

India ended the event with 13 medals -- two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals -- in the tournament which was held simultaneously for men and women for the first time.

India's Pooja Rani has defeated reigning World Champion Wang Lina in final of Asian Boxing Championships on Friday to win an elusive gold medal in the 81 kg category.

India's Pooja Rani has defeated reigning World Champion Wang Lina in final of Asian Boxing Championships on Friday to win an elusive gold medal in the 81 kg category. The 28-year-old Pooja, a silver medallist at the event in 2012 knocked-out China's Wang Lina. The Haryana-pugilist took to boxing against the wishes of her father, who relented after six months of pleadings by the boxer and her coaches in Bhiwani. She also has an Asian Games bronze medal, which she claimed in 2014. While in men's category, Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year. Panghal, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year, defeated Korea's Kim Inkyu in a unanimous decision. India ended the event with 13 medals -- two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals -- in the tournament which was held simultaneously for men and women for the first time.

Asian Boxing Championships: Pooja Rani wins gold medal in 81 kg category

Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom remained on course for a fifth gold medal at the Asian Boxing Championships after she advanced to the final of the event here today.

Mary Kom defeated Japan&#39;s Tsubasa Komura in a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the summit clash for the fifth time in her six appearances at the event.

Should she go on to win the final, the Indian would be winning her first gold Asian gold medal in the 48kg category.

The 35-year-old Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a former Olympic bronze-medallist, returned to her preferred weight category after five years of competing in 51kg, which was made an Olympic category in 2012.

Once again, it was a bout fought largely on defensive tactics. The Japanese boxer seemed too wary to go near the Indian, who had to quite literally lunge at Komura for her right hooks to connect.

Mary Kom&#39;s patience with Komura&#39;s tactics ran out in the second round and she increased the pace and ferocity of her own attacks to unsettle the Japanese.

The shell guard to stave off Komura&#39;s feeble right straights ensured that the Manipuri hardly took any blow in what turned out to be a lopsided contest.

The 35-year-old Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a former Olympic bronze-medallist, returned to her preferred weight category after five years of competing in 51kg, which was made an Olympic category in 2012.

Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom remained on course for a fifth gold medal at the Asian Boxing Championships after she advanced to the final of the event here today. Mary Kom defeated Japan's Tsubasa Komura in a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the summit clash for the fifth time in her six appearances at the event. Should she go on to win the final, the Indian would be winning her first gold Asian gold medal in the 48kg category. The 35-year-old Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a former Olympic bronze-medallist, returned to her preferred weight category after five years of competing in 51kg, which was made an Olympic category in 2012. Once again, it was a bout fought largely on defensive tactics. The Japanese boxer seemed too wary to go near the Indian, who had to quite literally lunge at Komura for her right hooks to connect. Mary Kom's patience with Komura's tactics ran out in the second round and she increased the pace and ferocity of her own attacks to unsettle the Japanese. The shell guard to stave off Komura's feeble right straights ensured that the Manipuri hardly took any blow in what turned out to be a lopsided contest.

'Magnificent Mary' enters Asian Championships final

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India to host Asian Boxing C'ship in Nov-Dec this year, BFI confident of COVID-19 storm passing

Asian Boxing Championships: Indian finish event with 13 medals

Asian Boxing Championships: Pooja Rani wins gold medal in 81 kg category

'Magnificent Mary' enters Asian Championships final