Vijender Singh confident of Indian pugilists’ Asian Games medal prospects

India’s squad of 13 boxers descended in Hangzhou for the 19th Asian Games with hopes of contributing healthily to the nation’s medal tally.

With world championship medallists like Deepak Bhoria, Nishant Dev, Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain among the ranks, the expectations are sky-high.

2008 Olympics Bronze medal winner Vijender Singh spoke in an interaction with the media about the challenges of changing weight categories, India’s chances and the reasons for the recent success.

On being asked about breaching the century mark of medals in the Asian Games, Vijender Singh answered:

“Nothing is impossible, if you dream it, you can achieve it. We have capable medal-winning athletes across disciplines, most of them in their first major event, so they should not let the pressure get to them.”

Vijender, who moved to the 81kg category from 75kg back in 2012, spoke of the challenges involved in shifting categories:

“A weight category is like a home to boxers, one feels confident, happy in that category. Shifting categories is almost like shifting houses. Your body needs to adapt to different training rigors, different routines and it is very challenging.”

On the recent upturn in the medal prospects of the boxers, as evidenced in the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships, Vijender shed more light on the reasons behind the success:

“The biggest reason is the hunger these boxers have. They belong to lower-middle class families. They dream big and they achieve big. I hope they maintain their form.”

Dronacharya awardee CA Kuttappa, the current coach of the Indian men’s boxing team for a second stint, has repeatedly outlined the need for effective punching and energy conservation.

Vijender added on to the coach’s words of advice and said, “First is confidence. Your body needs to be in good shape, and you need to be focussed. It is almost like stepping into war. But enjoy everything and go for it.”

The 37-year-old pugilist from Bhiwani, who has an enviable 13-1 professional record and has since dabbled in politics and acting, also touched upon the immense pressure boxers are under to secure Olympics quotas.

“I hope we get a healthy number of qualifiers from both the men and women boxers for the Paris Olympics. Then it will be about maintaining the confidence but also working hard without letting the pressure get to you,” the Padma Shri awardee signed off. 

Watch Asian Games at Sony Sports Network.