New Delhi, February 14, 2024: The Boxing Federation of India in association with REC Limited, a leading Maharatna Company under the Ministry of Power, has started the Talent Hunt Programme to discover and nurture India’s next boxing heroes. After three highly successful events, the programme now moves to Guwahati with the Eastern Open Talent Hunt scheduled to be held from March 2 to March 18, 2024 in Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium.
This championship is part of the four open preliminary tournaments that the Boxing Federation of India planned to organise in all four corners of the country for elite, youth, junior and sub-junior categories for both men and women boxers.
The registration process for the REC Eastern Open Talent Hunt has already begun, with Junior/Sub-Junior registrations closing on February 24th, 2024, and Elite/Youth registrations closing on March 4th, 2024. The event will kickstart on March 2 with Junior and sub-junior events and will run until March 9, 2024, followed by the elite and youth events from March 11 to March 18, 2024.
These are open tournaments and anyone can participate and get themselves enrolled to showcase their skills. The winners will get a chance to be invited to participate in the pruning trials for inclusion in the BFI’s national camps and train under the guidance of experienced coaches and mentors as well as to represent the country.
The Khelo India Southern Open Talent Hunt Programme is ongoing at the SJPN National Youth Training Centre in Bengaluru and has seen the participation of over 841 boxers with 259 in the Junior/Sub-Junior category and over 582 in the Elite/Youth category.
Comparatively, the Western Open Talent Hunt which happened in January witnessed 213 participants in the Junior/Sub-Junior category and 299 participants in the Elite/Youth category, signifying a steady rise in engagements across different regions of India.
Following the Eastern Talent Hunt, a combined talent hunt program will take place that will feature the winners from all the Talent Hunt Programme.