With Indian boxers sweating it out every day at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala in preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the slow pace of upgradation of the training venue there is proving to be an irritant.

The practice centre in Patiala is still under construction and boxers attending the national camp there have to train in an open hall with an asbestos roof in searing hot conditions.
To add to their woes, the complex doesn’t have an air-conditioning system installed apart from not having a state of the art gymnasium and change rooms for the pugilists.
“We had brought this to the notice of the Indian Boxing Federation long back and they started constructing a new building for the same but it is still not complete and I don’t see it getting ready in the next one and half months,” Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh told this newspaper on Wednesday.
“We are training for at least eight hours every day and it is getting difficult for us with facilities like sauna bath and ice bath not available. We need these to recover after such rigorous sessions,” the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee elaborated.
“People would see that as an excuse but it does affect our game. Everyone values a champion and not a loser. So, we have to fight these out and with our own efforts win medals for our country,” Vijender said on the sidelines of the launch of Samsung Sports Ratna programme which supports top Indian athletes including him for mega events like the Asian Games.
Asian champion Mayengbam Suranjoy Singh too echoed Vijender, saying: “I am clueless why it (training centre) has not been completed. About 96 days are left for the CWG and we don’t even have a gym that is needed to maintain our fitness.
“We are keeping some of our own equipments and taking help of local gyms to keep fit.”
The boxers have no other option but to bear with these difficulties in the absence of a specialised training centre for boxing except NIS Patiala. There is another centre available in Pune but that is exclusively meant for the army personnel.
Further the practice area at the Talkatora Stadium here, the boxing venue for the CWG, was not completed till the time of hosting the Commonwealth Boxing Championships in March.
“I remember that before our bouts we had went to the Talkatora Stadium but due to lack of a warm-up area had to go to the Karnail Singh Stadium. I hope it is completed by now,” Suranjoy recalled.
However, he praised the efforts of national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu and foreign coach B.I. Fernandes from Cuba.
“Our coaches have done a great job. We have improved a lot in the last few months and am hopeful that India will pose a tough challenge to the other countries in the CWG,” he added.
Seasoned campaigner Akhil Kumar too joined the chorus but played safe by saying that there were a “lot of deficiencies, but I can manage”.
“We are going to fight top international pugilists in the Asian Games and CWG, so we need to have those facilities that can help us in enhancing our stamina and aid in fast recovery after a difficult bout but we totally lack them,” the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.
However, Organising Committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh said that the training centre at Patiala was almost complete, and work left if any would be completed in the next 10-15 days.
“To my knowledge the training venue in Patiala is ready. And if some work is still to be done there, it will be completed within 10-15 days,” Randhir said.
“There are some CWG venues which need attention more than others, and I completely agree that there is a delay in the work but I am sure these venues will be completed very soon,” he added.