New Delhi

A17-member Indian boxing team comprising seven men and 10 women left for Sofia, Bulgaria on Friday to participate in the 73rd Strandja Memorial tournament.

The tournament, which is Europe's oldest international boxing event, will be held from February 18 to February 28.

It is Indian boxers' first exposure trip of the year.

Six Indian male boxers were forced out of the tournament due to niggles sustained during training. The Indian men's team's participation has been reduced to seven boxers and the squad is largely made up of national medal winners.

The women's team was also been reduced to 10 after pullouts by bereaved Asian champion Pooja Rani (81kg) and Sonia Lather (57kg), who hasn't yet fully recovered from a niggle.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had said that the government will bear the cost of the team's participation in the event.

India won two medals -- silver by Deepak Kumar and a bronze by Naveen Boora -- in the last edition of the Strandja tournament. The women boxers, however, could not finish on the podium.

The Squad: Elite Women: Nitu (48kg), Anamika (50kg), Nikhat (52kg), Shiksha (54kg), Meena Rani (60kg), Parveen (63 kg), Anjali Tushir (66kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Saweety (75kg), Nandini (81+kg). Elite Men: Rohit Mor (57kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Akash (67kg), Sumit (75kg), Sachin Kumar (80kg), Lakshya Chahar (86kg), Narender (92+kg).

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