It was just before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games that International Boxing Association (AIBA) decided to do away with protective headguards in the men's section in order to make it more attractive for spectators. But there were concerns, too, importantly the facial injuries that a boxer can receive during the bouts.
Addressing the concern, a ready solution was offered to the pugilists. They were recommended to use the magic cream Cavilon in order to avoid any cut or injuries during competitions. Given that AIBA was experimenting with this cream, it was not left to the boxers to take a call on its use.
Interestingly, the 'use cream' rule has, however, not been applied on the female boxers who still fight with the protective headgear.
All the Indian boxers refused to use Cavilon in Glasgow for the simple reason that "there could be a banned substance in the cream".
But the scenario has changed in the last two months, and now AIBA has directed its officials to test this cream on a minimum of 50 per cent of the boxers competing here. And all the Indian boxers except for L Devendro Singh have applied this cream till now.
The results of the experiment have been encouraging from India's perspective as no boxer till date has suffered any cut on his face in the initial rounds. The neighbouring Pakistan have not been lucky, though. dna has learnt that three boxers from Pakistan received cuts during the bouts despite applying Cavilon.
Indian chief coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu told this paper on Monday that several layers of Cavilon are being applied on a boxer's face – minimum of three layers as recommended by AIBA – before every bout.
Medically speaking, Cavilon protects red and strongly irritated skin by providing a long lasting, durable barrier and provides moisture to dry skin and increases the adherence of medical tapes and surgical glue. So, the cream is applied sparingly to cover each exposed area of the boxer's face (by avoiding the sensitive eye area).
The cream has to be applied at least half-an-hour before the bout. "We'll be encouraging boxers to use Cavilon here. It may take time before reaching any conclusion whether the cream is actually helping boxers or not," said Sandhu.
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