The Services Sports 
Control Board boxers contested nine of the 13 finals spread across 
various weight categories and won eight titles, their only loss coming 
in the 70 kg final. Over to Nandakumar Marar.                           
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                
                          
                                           
                                           
                                    
                                            
                                                 
 
                                                     
SSCB's Manjeet (right) lands a punch on Neeraj (Chandigarh) in the final
 of the 63 kg category. Manjeet won the bout on points.                 
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              
                                                        
                                                
Mizoram's Lal Dinmawia (bantam weight) received the Best Boxer 
award, while Maharashtra's Kallicharan Kharare (feather weight) was 
named the ‘Best Loser' as the under-16 boys from Haryana, Mizoram, 
Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh vied for top honours with the Services 
Sports Control Board (SSCB) pugilists in the 27th National Junior 
Championships recently.
SSCB contested nine of the 13 finals spread across various weight 
categories at the Balewadi indoor stadium in Pune and won eight titles, 
its only loss coming in the 70 kg final, where Deepak Kadian went down 
to Deepak Sura of Haryana on points (13-15).
SSCB's champions were Ankur Banswal (46 kg), P. L. Prasad (48 kg), 
Naveen Kumar (50 kg), Sandeep Badri (52 kg), Manjeet (63 kg), C. Dadu 
Singh (6 kg), Sandeep Sharma (75 kg) and K. N. S. Rathore (80+ kg).
Deepak Sura gave up cricket to become a boxer upon watching the 
action from the ringside for the first time. According to his father 
Sukhbag Sura, Deepak took to boxing when he was in Standard IX and he 
hopes to represent India in major championships some day. “My role is to
 provide Deepak the backup; he has to do all the punching,” added 
Sukhbag.
With Akhil Kumar and Vijender Singh as their icons, the kids in 
Bhiwani and Sonepat are now familiar with boxing. Deepak enrolled 
himself in the Universal Boxing Academy in Hissar to further his career 
in the sport under coach Rajesh Sheoran.
That Deepak chose boxing ahead of cricket — which offers a lucrative 
career — does not bother Sukhbag. “Children today have many choices. 
There is money in cricket, but money isn't everything. If boxing 
continues to fascinate Deepak, he may end up realising his dream of 
representing India one day. The prestige associated with boxing in India
 is more valued in our society,” he explained.
SSCB's C. Dadu Singh (welterweight champion) initially faced some 
resistance at home for choosing boxing. “My father felt boxing was 
dangerous for children and he asked me to think again (over my 
decision),” said the Manipur lad, who played football and trained in 
judo like most kids from the north-east.
“The army unit I joined had facilities for boxing,” said Dadu Singh, a
 trainee at the Army Sports Institute (Pune). He underlined his 
dominance in the ring in Balewadi, unleashing a flurry of punches to his
 opponent Akshay Rawal's head in the 66 kg final before the referee 
stopped the contest.
Dinmawia is a good example of the natural boxing talent available in 
the north-east. Four other boxers from Mizoram — N. Lalbiakkima, 
Ronusanga, C. Lalchhanthuanga and Lalramtana — won bronze medals in the 
championship after entering the semifinals.
The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) is attempting to spread 
its target area by planning coaching clinics in states on a zonal basis.
“India's first world champion, Zoram Thanga, was from Mizoram. The 
performances of the Mizo youngsters are due to the work done by the 
Sports Authority of India centres there. We want to assist the state 
coaches, update techniques and prepare better teams by conducting zonal 
clinics,” informed Brig Muralidharan Raja, Secretary-General of IABF.
“We are trying to involve the National coach, G. S. Sandhu, now part 
of the AIBA Coaches Commission, and the Cuban coach, B. I. Fernandez, in
 the zonal clinics that are being planned,” he added.
                                           
THE RESULTS (FINALS) 
46 kg: Ankur Banswal (SSCB) bt Amit Pangal (Haryana) 11-4
48 kg: P. L. Prasad (SSCB) bt K. Shyam Kumar (AP) 16-10
50 kg: Naveen Kumar (SSCB) bt Rakesh (Haryana) 10-6
52 kg: Sandeep Badri (SSCB) bt A. Silambarasan (TN) 11-7
54 kg: Lal Dinmawia (Mizoram) bt Arun (Uttarakhand) 17-8
57 kg: Deepak Pahal (Haryana) bt Kallicharan Kharare (Maharashtra) 9-8
60 kg: Sukhdev (MP) bt Sanjay Thapa (Uttarakhand) 8-7
63 kg: Manjeet (SSCB) bt Neeraj (Chandigarh) 10-9
66 kg: C. Dadu Singh (SSCB) bt Akshay Rawal (Uttarakhand) RSC
70 kg: Deepak Sura (Haryana) bt Deepak Kadian (SSCB) 15-13
75 kg: Sandeep Sharma (SSCB) bt Deepak Sheron (Haryana) 9-2
80 kg: Gurwinder Singh (Punjab) bt Jay Sayena (Uttarakhand) 18-11
80+ kg: K. Navneet Singh Rathore (SSCB) bt Rishabh Purohit (MP)