GOA:
The Jab and Box Boxing Arena was inaugurated on Tuesday morning at the Joggers Park in Chicalim-Goa by Minister for Panchayat, Transport and Industries, Mauvin Godinho, in the presence of President of the Jab and Box Boxing Club and Acting Sarpanch of Sancoale, Girish Pillai, Treasurer of Goa Amateur Boxing Association, Danuska Da Gama and others.
The new arena inside the brand new Joggers Park that is yet to be inaugurated has been a long pending dream of ex-boxers from Vasco who reined the ring in the 90’S. Jab and Box Boxing Club’s Boxing Arena is a testament to the dedication and collective effort of individuals with the support of minister and local authorities spanning the last two years, to start a centre in Vasco to revive the sport and to spread it in pockets of South Goa.
Impressed with the equipment installed, including a floor ring— the first-of-its-kind seen in Goa, Minister for Panchayat, Transport and Industries, Mauvin Godinho, while addressing the guests gathered said: “The intention is to provide a platform for the youth to engage in positive and exciting sports activities. Boxing, in particular, lacks sufficient support, and our aim was to establish a remarkable arena here. I am sure we can train boxers and then organise national and international boxing championships at the new stadium coming up,” he said. He added, that Boxing as a sport has seen tremendous popularity in India.
“A coach can play a big role in shaping a boxer. Technique, speed, footwork, and polishing is required and I will do everything possible to ensure boxers from Vasco get the best in terms of training,” he added. He lauded the members of Jab and Box Boxing Club for tirelessly working towards setting up the centre.
Three exhibition bouts were organised so as to give people a feel of live boxing. Jab and Box Club Boxing Club under the leadership and support from its president and Acting Sarpanch of Sancoale, Girish Pillai have plans to host a state championship in December. Speaking at the inaugural he said: “This was a dream of the members of the Jab and Box Boxing Club who were boxers in the 90’s. Back then we didn’t have support, finances or infrastructure.
But, we always loved the sports and wanted to do something in Vasco. This is a dream come true, and I hope the children from Vasco come forward to become champions and we will go our best to support their dreams and make them national medallists,” he said. He urged GABA and SAG to render support to the club that has taken the baton forward to initiate training.
Premenand Kudalkar, secretary of club, Praveen Kudalkar, Vincent Soundraj, Umesh Naik, Nitin Ajgaonkar, members of the club worked hard to make the inauguration a success and have been actively involved in setting up the arena in a matter of days.
Goa Amateur Boxing Association for long has been requesting the government to start centres in South Goa, and this centre now will be an important one that will be developed and bring in a good pool of boxers. Treasurer of GABA and joint secretary of Boxing Federation of India, Danuska Da Gama congratulated team of Jab and Box Boxing Club and said: “This is a significant step to bring boxing to South Goa, and with the setup of such kind of equipment the boxers will have the best in terms of training. She assured the club of full support from the association and welcomed the idea of hosting a state championship at the Joggers Park.”
“I am amazed with the setup here that probably no other government training centre has. I urge everyone, particularly parents, to capitalise on this chance to get your children trained in boxing. Playing sport is always great, and we have several champions in India who have led the way. Our goal is to cultivate champions from Vasco, building upon the legacy of the influential boxing club,” she said.
A certified boxing coach, working under Sports Authority of Goa has been deputed to conduct training at the centre. Boxing training will be offered free of cost at the Jab and Box Boxing Arena at the Joggers Park, Chicalim, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting August
21.
