New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) In a major initiative ahead of 2024 Olympics, Boxing Federation of India, in collaboration with Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), has begun an elite multinational training camp at Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

The 13-day camp, which began on January 29 and will go on till February 10, is expected to give the boxers much-needed international exposure ahead of the crucial Olympics qualifiers.

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Asian Games bronze medallist Parveen (57kg), World Championships bronze medallists Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) are among 30 Indian boxers, including 13 female, who are part of the camp that also features seven male and five female boxers from England.

Subsequently four male boxers from Russia will also be part of the camp.

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"The Boxing Federation of India and REC are committed to the growth of Indian boxing and the multinational camp is a significant step in that direction as it provides players an international exposure, elevating the standard of boxing," said BFI secretary general Hemanta Kumar Kalita.

"The camp will also boost their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It provides an unique opportunity to our athletes to hone their skills, learn new things and build a sense of camaraderie and sportsmanship," he said in a release.

The multinational camp offers a perfect platform for the Indian pugilists to prepare for the Olympic Games qualification tournaments as they will work on sharpening their skills while training alongside international boxers.

The reigning national champions Anamika (50kg), Sonia Lather (57kg), Jasmine (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) are the other Indian women boxers participating in the camp.

Among men, Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist Narender (92+kg) and reigning national champions Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg) and Sanjeet (92kg) are part of the camp.

Besides the multinational camp, the BFI, in association with REC, has been also organising open talent hunt programmes to discover and nurture India's next boxing heroes.

The Southern Open Talent Hunt Programme will be held at the Sri Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Training Centre in Bengaluru from February 2 to 18.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)