Pics by Kevin Rodrigues
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (HB)
With inputs from media release
Udupi, Apr 8: The Manipal Academy of Higher Education unveiled their maiden, first of its kind Mega Boxing Event at the MIT Student Plaza on Thursday, April 8. The event “MAHE Manipal Fight Night” will include the participation of prominent boxers of national and International fame. The theme of the event is “Punch it before it knocks you out” for creating awareness on Substance Abuse.
The grand event was kicked off today by three-time WBC Asia title holder and first Indian boxer in WBC world ranking, Neeraj Goyat, in the presence of Cdr ( Dr) Anil Rana, director –MIT-MAHE, Dr Vinod Nayak, secretary, Sports Council- MAHE; S P Kar, director, Directorate of PR, Media and Social Media Cell - MAHE; Prof Balakrishna Rao, director-IT & Digital-MAHE; Dr Geetha Maiya, director-Student Affairs-MAHE; Vittaldas Bhat-director, Purchase-MAHE; Col Prakash Chandra, director, General Services – MAHE along with MAHE officials and students.
Neeraj Goyat won the title of "India’s most promising boxer" in 2008 and was the first Indian boxer to have made it to WBC World rankings. He is a three-time WBC Asia Title holder and was recently appointed as the goodwill ambassador for the World Boxing Council in India. He is the only Indian to have received this honour. In his role as an ambassador, Neeraj will represent the World Boxing Council in India and encourage the culture of boxing by introducing it to a broader audience.
In all, eight boxing matches will be held over a span of two days i.e., the April 9 and 10 of at the MIT Quadrangle from 6:30 PM onwards, with four matches taking place each day. The participating players will compete in various weight divisions/categories like Super Feather Weight, Super Light Weight, Super Middle Weight, Light Heavyweight and Welter Weight.
Neeraj said, “Boxing is not just a sports or fighting, but you will get to know the attacks and defence tactics. Thus, make yourselves free for two days and watch this event.”
Dr Vinod Nayak, secretary, MAHE Sports Council said, “At MAHE aspiring athletes will always be given opportunities and state-of-the-art sports facilities at MARENA, along with well-qualified trainers to enhance their sporting abilities. We believe our students have great potential to succeed at both national and international levels. This event will further light up that fire in them and provide them with the motivation to seriously consider sports as a professional career.”
S P Kar, director, Directorate of PR, Media & Social Media Cell, MAHE said, “We are extremely proud and excited to be holding a mega-event like this for the first time. Sports play an important role in the overall development of a student’s personality, especially one like boxing which requires physical prowess, grit and quick thinking. MAHE always has strived for the overall well being of the student community and that is why we have also taken up the issue of substance abuse awareness through our event theme ‘Punch it before it knocks you out.’”
Day one will include the participation of Sangeeta Birdi (British champion), Neetu (state level silver medalist), Nitveer Singh (state level gold medalist), Ankit Kumar (two times state level silver medalist), Sandeep (two times junior national champion), Lovepreet (all India university level bronze medallist), Gurpal Singh (under 19 state level silver medallist) and Akashdeep Singh (state Level silver medallist)
The second day will feature the most anticipated match of the event- the face-off between Neeraj Goyat and Suresh Pasham (national medalist 2018 and university national champion).
Day two will also see Vikas Phangal (North India gold medalist), Sagar Chand (four Elite National Champ bronze medalist), Jaspreet Singh (senior state level gold medallist), Harpal Singh (gold in TRG-CUM Com, Ireland), Mandeep Dalal (gold medallist, Maharashtra), Max (Rank 13 in German Professional Boxing).
The event is presented by Super Boxing League (SBL) in MAHE in association with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT), co-sponsored by i-On, D-VIOS, D2L Corporation, Searce and T K Elevator.