Boxer Vijender Singh talks about India’s CWG medals and his upcoming pro match

Indian professional boxer and Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh has appreciated the performance of the Indian boxing contingent at CWG 2022 and said.

That he was really proud of the show put up by the country’s boxing talent. “They delivered a great performance. I am really proud of them. It would have been great had they won all the medals. But still, I am very happy with their performance,” Vijender told ANI.

Indian boxers performed really well at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games(CWG) 2022 in Birmingham. They captured seven medals in total, out of which three were gold, three bronze and one silver. Nikhat Zareen (women’s 50 kg), Nitu Ghangas (women’s 48 kg) and Amit Panghal (men’s 51 kg) captured the gold medals for India.

Vijender heaped praises on Nikhat Zareen, who continued her great streak after winning the Women’s Boxing World Championships earlier this year with a Commonwealth Games gold medal. “She will do better. I wish her luck for her future,” he added.

The boxer also showered appreciation for the Indian contingent for their overall performance at CWG 2022. Vijender said: “I am impressed by wrestlers particularly. India is doing well in CWG. But Asian Games are coming. I hope they are able to keep up their performances and win even more medals in Asian Games.”

Meanwhile India delivered its fifth-best performance of all time in their CWG history, by winning 61 medals. However, achieving 61 medals this time around holds great significance since Shooting, which is India’s most successful discipline historically with 135 medals, was not included in the games this time. India’s best performance ever finish in CWG is a total of 101 medals which was achieved when the games were held at Delhi in 2010.

Vijender also talked about his upcoming boxing bout against Ghana’s Eliasu Sulley at ‘The Jungle Rumble’ on Wednesday in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. He said “I am focussed and in a great rhythm ahead of the bout.” Shedding light on his plans for the bout and his opponent’s verbal tactics ahead of the bout, Vijender said, “I always believe in revealing my plans through my actions, not my speech. I will show him tomorrow. We will get to know who the real king is.”

Expressing excitement to box in front of Indian people, Vijender who has has an impressive record of 12-1 in boxing, said: “Home crowd gives a lot of support. The match will be good. I would like if youth take up boxing as a sport, be it in amateur or professional category.”

“I would like if I get to fight in India, places like Bihar, West Bengal or anywhere,” he added.

Vijender Singh had won the bronze medal for India in 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first ever Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal.