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Celebrityhood comes naturally to Vijender Singh. It probably explains why while most sportspersons shy away from the cameras, the Bhiwani boxer prefers to stay in front of it. Even national coach GS Sandhu says that Vijender is a star, both inside and outside the ring.
On Wednesday, the Olympic bronze medallist raised his fame quotient a couple of notches when he became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the 75kg category at the World Boxing Championships in Milan, thereby securing India’s first-ever medal in the competition.
Vijender trounced Derevyanchenko Sergiy of Ukraine12-4 in his quarter-final bout, making sure of at least a bronze medal in the elite event. The job, though, is only half done for Vijender because he now wants to go all the way and win gold. “As much as I love my bronze medal from the Olympics, this time I’m aiming for gold. I’m a better boxer now than I was a year ago and though this is a wonderful feeling I’m only thinking about my next bout,” Vijender told The Pioneer from Milan after his quarter-final victory.
Fame did come easy to Vijender after Beijing, but it came with its share of controversies and criticism. After he pulled out of the World Cup last year, many in the fraternity felt that Vijender was not focusing on boxing and that he was not prepared to handle so much media and public attention. But with this win, said Vijender, he has proved that he is as dedicated to boxing now as he was the day he wore his first pair of gloves. “It doesn’t matter whether I’m at a talk show or walking a ramp for a designer; boxing will always be my first love and today I proved my critics wrong, though that wasn’t what I set out to do. This win is for the promotion of the sport,” said the top seed, who takes on Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev in the semi-final on Friday.
Sandhu said that his ward was now a more mature and complete boxer, and so, he was able to manipulate his opponents more easily. “In his bout against Steve Rolls, Vijender was pitted against a smaller-built opponent and it looked like he would win without much effort, but Rolls had a very strong defence. Because of that, Vijender found the going tough in the earlier rounds, but he made a determined comeback,” said Sandhu.
“Vijender’s strength is to win regular points with quick punches but his bout against Rolls was a surprisingly low-scoring affair. Initially, Vijender could hardly land punches at the right places and trailed 0-1 after the opening round. But he changed his strategy quickly and eventually won the match with a more defensive approach. But in the quarters he returned to his aggressive style and won comfortably,” Sandhu added.
Abbos, Vijender’s next opponent, is the defending world champion, but the good news is that Vijender had defeated Abbos at the Asian Championships in Zhuhai two months ago.
“He’s a tough competitor but since I got the better of him just two months back, I know I do that again,” Vijender said.
Vijender is the last remaining Indian boxer at the competition, watching as one by one, each of his team mates went down. However, he said that it never affected him at any point and he never put any put any extra pressure on himself.
Asked if he feared failing, Vijender’s reply was an obvious indication of his confidence levels. “Mujhe dhar nahin lagta. Kyunki dhar ke age hi jeet hai.”
source : Daily Pioneer
On Wednesday, the Olympic bronze medallist raised his fame quotient a couple of notches when he became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the 75kg category at the World Boxing Championships in Milan, thereby securing India’s first-ever medal in the competition.
Vijender trounced Derevyanchenko Sergiy of Ukraine12-4 in his quarter-final bout, making sure of at least a bronze medal in the elite event. The job, though, is only half done for Vijender because he now wants to go all the way and win gold. “As much as I love my bronze medal from the Olympics, this time I’m aiming for gold. I’m a better boxer now than I was a year ago and though this is a wonderful feeling I’m only thinking about my next bout,” Vijender told The Pioneer from Milan after his quarter-final victory.
Fame did come easy to Vijender after Beijing, but it came with its share of controversies and criticism. After he pulled out of the World Cup last year, many in the fraternity felt that Vijender was not focusing on boxing and that he was not prepared to handle so much media and public attention. But with this win, said Vijender, he has proved that he is as dedicated to boxing now as he was the day he wore his first pair of gloves. “It doesn’t matter whether I’m at a talk show or walking a ramp for a designer; boxing will always be my first love and today I proved my critics wrong, though that wasn’t what I set out to do. This win is for the promotion of the sport,” said the top seed, who takes on Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev in the semi-final on Friday.
Sandhu said that his ward was now a more mature and complete boxer, and so, he was able to manipulate his opponents more easily. “In his bout against Steve Rolls, Vijender was pitted against a smaller-built opponent and it looked like he would win without much effort, but Rolls had a very strong defence. Because of that, Vijender found the going tough in the earlier rounds, but he made a determined comeback,” said Sandhu.
“Vijender’s strength is to win regular points with quick punches but his bout against Rolls was a surprisingly low-scoring affair. Initially, Vijender could hardly land punches at the right places and trailed 0-1 after the opening round. But he changed his strategy quickly and eventually won the match with a more defensive approach. But in the quarters he returned to his aggressive style and won comfortably,” Sandhu added.
Abbos, Vijender’s next opponent, is the defending world champion, but the good news is that Vijender had defeated Abbos at the Asian Championships in Zhuhai two months ago.
“He’s a tough competitor but since I got the better of him just two months back, I know I do that again,” Vijender said.
Vijender is the last remaining Indian boxer at the competition, watching as one by one, each of his team mates went down. However, he said that it never affected him at any point and he never put any put any extra pressure on himself.
Asked if he feared failing, Vijender’s reply was an obvious indication of his confidence levels. “Mujhe dhar nahin lagta. Kyunki dhar ke age hi jeet hai.”
source : Daily Pioneer