Indian Boxer Vikas Krishan seeks External Affiars Minister’s Help with his Coach stuck in America

Indian Boxer Vikas Krishan who will be participating in the upcoming Olympics next year, requested help from the Ministry of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Monday after his coach is currently stuck in US due to a new visa policy. As the athlete said that it is important for him to train under his coach as the mega event is approaching soon in 2021.

“Dear sir Dr S Jaishankar – my coach is stuck in the US and unable to return to India due to new visa protocols. With the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, his presence is very important for my training as I aim to win India an Olympic gold. Could you please help with this,” Krishan tweeted.

As Sports Authority of India (SAI) in September 2020 had approved Krishan’s request to train in the US in order to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021 as he was part of the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) and received financial assistance of Rs 17.5 lakhs for the duration of the visit as per SAI statement.

The Tokyo Olympics 2021 will be his third Olympic appearance as the 28-year-old from Harayana talked about his preparation and things which he is finding difficult in training amid this pandemic time in detail.

As he told IANS “My aim is to win an Olympic gold and for that, I am ready to put my life in danger.”

“Flights are on now and I will travel with full precaution so that I can concentrate on my training rather than getting infected and sitting in some hotel room somewhere (in quarantine),” he had added.

However, everything is not well when it comes to Boxing in India as recently Commonwealth Games Gold medal winner Boxer Manoj wrote a letter to Honorable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi urging him to save the Boxing Federation of India who is standing on the verge of getting de recognized from Sports Ministry for not adhering to the rules of National Sports Code.

Also, work needs to be done at the grassroots level by the Boxing Federation of India in order to groom amateur talents in such a way that they are ready to play for the country when the opportunity comes along their way in the future.