New Delhi: Ace Indian pugilist Vijender Singh feels that pressure has always been part of his life, and he does not get much affected by it and feels that it acts as a motivation. With all eyes set on Vijender who is a part of the Indian contingent traveling to Astana for the Asia Olympic Qualifying Tournament which gets underway from Wednesdy was looking calm before their departure today and said that he remained upbeat about qualifying for the London Olympics later this year.
Vijender who would be taking part in the 75 kg weight category said that he has been facing pressure since his bronze medal winning streak in Beijing Olympics in 2008, but he has learned to cope with and it helps him in performing better.
"I have always been under pressure ever since I won the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics. It is nothing new for me. It's there before I leave for any tournament. There was pressure when I didn't get gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. I went on to get a gold medal in the Asian Games but that hasn't lessened the pressure. All I can say is that I have become mentally better prepared to deal with it since Beijing," said Vijender during their last training session at the Karnail Singh Stadium.
Vijender after making an early exit from the last year’s World Championship, a qualifying event, things can get little tough for him as Astana would be Indian boxers last chance to qualify for the Olympics. But he remains confident about his qualification as he was in the same situation before the Beijing Games.
“I faced same situation before the Beijing Games. I had lost in two attempts and was left with just one chance. At that time, there were just two slots available and I went on to win the gold. This time, there are four slots in my category. So, I have a better chance. I just have to make the semi-finals," he said.
Talking about skipping out build up events where he lose out on some real time action, Vijender said, “I choose not to perform in build up tournaments as I believe in going for bigger tournaments and perform better there. Everyone has their own preferences but I choose to stay out of them.”
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
