Interview with Bhutan’s General Secretary Mr. Kezang Jigme

General Secretary of the Bhutan Boxing Federation Mr. Kezang Jigme is the engine of the country’s boxing life who has been working hard for the development in the South Asian nation. Mr. Kezang Jigme shared with us his thoughts about Bhutan’s main strength and weaknesses during the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships.
Bhutan Boxing Federation has been sending athletes to the Asian Boxing Confederation’s events since 2013 and since then the country proved strong development. Bhutan’s boxers won bouts in the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Tashkent and also in the current ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa.
“Bhutan is a small country in the boxing world and we are new in the sport but we are trying to build up our future and next generation. We began to develop our boxers in 2008 when we started recruiting athletes in the country’s regions.
We are managing elite, youth and male junior boxers in the national team in Bhutan. Currently we have got 17 elite and 21 junior athletes in our national gym, most of them have got real enthusiasm in the sport.
In connection of our current junior boxers we are still in the grass root level but we sent them to the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships to raise their international experiences. I am confident they will perform better since they have trained hard with our Korean coach.
We have got National Championships for elite and youth boxers in Bhutan furthermore we are planning to launch our first ever Sub-Junior National Championships for our youngest talents. Bhutan is a developing country with several issues but we are trying to solve all of our problems with hard working.
Our main strength is the President of the Bhutan National Olympic Committee His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuk who has been supporting the sport each region of the country. Our boxers joined to our training programs on a voluntary basis.
We don’t have too much and AIBA certified coaches therefore we are always facing problems during the main events asking the host country to support our boxers in the ringside.
We are so thankful to ASBC President Mr. Serik Konakbayev and the ASBC management arranging for us equipments during the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships. We have published an article about the donation to the Facebook page of the Bhutan National Olympic Committee.
Bhutan Boxing Federation has got a few female boxers now and we are planning to send at least our National Champion Tandin Lhamo to the ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in November. We are still checking our budget’s possibilities and we will offer her name to our NOC also for further support,“ said Mr. Kezang Jigme during the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships.