New Delhi: Guinness Book of records holder Abhijit Baruah has the knack for breaking records and this time he went one up by breaking his own record of throwing 329 punches on a boxing pad in a minute. Baruah a man of varied tastes relishes the adrenalin rush that comes along with achieving what other people can only fathom about. A martial arts expert, Abhijit has won numerous accolades in more than 10 different sporting categories, including boxing. This attempt was the bookmark to an inaugural category in the Asia Book of Records, when he first made the record on October 13, 2012.
On Thursday (31 Jan 2013) at the Assam Bhawan in the capital city of New Delhi, the 23 year old from Jorhat, Assam once again created history as he surpassed his previous best of 329 full contact punches by a huge margin of more than 50 punches. In his very first attempt at breaking the mark he blazed to whopping 387 punches in 60 seconds with an average of more than six punches per second.
The Assamese boxer actually landed 395 punches, but only 387 were counted as full contact hits. He delivered punches one after the other with the lightening speed and without stopping for any second. He was well supported by Jayanta Tamuli who was holding the punching pads for him. The adjudicators took their time to watch the video of the 1 minute in ultra slow motion and after a tensed break of 30 minutes the outcome was declared with an elated Abhijit being honoured for his bravado.
By achieving this feat he entered his name for a second time in the Asian Book of Records. The record was also recognized by the Assist World Records and the World Records University, which bestowed Young Abhijit with an honorary doctorate degree as well. “I am elated to have broken my own record; it is a very proud moment for me to have accomplished this feat. I was confident that I would be able to achieve the mark, in fact the target that I give myself was far more but still I am happy to have gotten 387”, expressed an elated Abhijit after his record-breaking endeavour.
The Assamese lad is no stranger to pushing himself to the very limits of human accomplishments. Amongst the other endearing exploits his prime achievement is of establishing a Guinness World Record for running the largest distance (156.2 kilometres) barefoot in 24 hours. As for his future plans, Baruah hopes to enter the Guinness Books of Records for this category as well, while at the same time taking up boxing as a full time career.
“Now that I have broken my own records, I will look to scale new heights. A Guinness record in this category and Olympic boxing are the two things that I want to focus on. I have been an avid boxer and now wish to break into the domestic circuit and get selected for the national squad.
My first challenge will be the Senior Men’s Nationals this year”, stated the Assam Police constable.
It is indeed a great moment for India and state of Assam with Abhijit Baruah breaking his own record and entering his name for a second time in the Asia Book of Records. Indian Amateur Boxing Federation President Shri Abhishek Matoria, along with other boxing dignitaries extended their warmest congratulations to the Assamese boxer for an astounding achievement and wishes him all the luck for his future endeavours. Mr Matoria said that it was a proud moment for our Nation and IABF along with the Assam State Boxing Association would provide all the necessary support to Abhijit in his quest for boxing glory. He also stated, “Such unique accomplishments in boxing and other sports only enhance the popularity of the game and attracts more people to participate and take up sports as a profession. Abhijit has done a grand job over the years of acting as an ambassador for sports in India”.
