Monnet to sponsor boxing team

KOLKATA: Call it a fistful of dollars. The steel sector, which had taken quite a few punches due to recession, is now ready to box. Monnet Ispat, a producer of sponge iron, has decided to sponsor the Indian boxing team. The deal, which involves kit and title sponsorship for three years, is in many ways a path-breaking one.

"We were keen to associate with sports since I have always felt sports attracts very little corporate funding in India. We chose boxing because it represents strength, much like steel, a product we make," Sandeep Jajodia, managing director of Monnet Ispat, told ET. “We will stay with the team through the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 and right upto the London Olympics in 2012," he added.

Boxing has so far not attracted any major corporate sponsorship. But what has now turned the tide in its favour is the Indian team’s superb performance at the just-concluded 5th Commonwealth Boxing Championships in Delhi, in which six Indian boxers bagged gold.

On a more personal note, Mr Jajodia added: "Moreover, I enjoy watching the sport in movies like ‘Rocky’ and in places like Las Vegas, though I have not stepped into the ring."