The ace Indian pugilist Vijender Singh created history by winning the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and thus becoming the first boxer to win a medal in Olympics for India. Since then, boxing as a sport has grown in stature in the country and the boxing team looks better and stronger. This time seven Indian boxers will compete in the toughest sporting event of this planet and the credit for the rise in sport definitely goes to the Bhiwani, Haryana.
Vijender himself believes that the Olympic medal has had a massive effect on the game. He said that the medal was a big change for him, the sport and the countries outlook towards the sport. It was the first medal in boxing and the country really needed something of that sort for the sport.
On the affect that the medal had on the boxers, he said that the approach of the boxers has changed after that and everyone has started to believe that they can compete at such high level and belief is what makes all the difference.
But Beijing Olympics is history now and it is the upcoming London Olympics that the boxer is concentrating on. India’s effort in the Beijing Olympics was good compared as India won three medals there but things are expected to be much better in London. India’s chances in this Olympics are good and the hopes are high from our boxing team.
It is sure that Vijender will have the extra responsibility of leading the team as he has been there and has achieved what every player wants to achieve. Vijender is the first Indian boxer to make it to three Olympics and is the senior most member of the team. Having said that, Vijender has all the ingredients to repeat what he did in Beijing.
He is very experienced as compared to last time as in Beijing he was still an unknown entity and later went on to win the bronze in the Olympics. But this time, things will be a lot different because people know him and his opponent will be aware of the danger he possesses.
One more thing about Vijender which is commendable is his resiliency. Critics were sure that his career was over after he could not win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. But he soon complemented for the loss with gold at the Asian Games at Guangzhou, China. All of a sudden disaster struck again and he lost at the World Championship. Critics started doing the rounds again and he did shut them by qualifying for the Olympics for the third consecutive time.
Vijender is also a very confident man and that does reflect on his face and it is this confidence that has helped him excel at the highest stage. He seldom does get bogged down by pressure and knows the act of handling pressure very well. Pressure has never got better of him and he is one boxer on whom the whole country would bank and going by his character, he hardly disappoints.
Vijender on his training ahead of the Olympics said that things are looking good and he is happy with his preparation. He is working on endurance and speed and is confident going into the tournament. The man who has paved the way for future generations and given Indian pugilists the impetus and belief of making it big at the global arena, is carrying the hopes of millions and going by what he has achieved in the past, it does look that he will not disappoint his fans.
By Indian Sports News Network
