Despite no Indian male boxer having won a medal at the London Olympics, national boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu was all praise for his young fighters yesterday and felt the sport has a bright future in the country.
“Akhil Kumar and Vijender Singh performed well in their second Olympics (Beijing 2008) and now we have some very young and talented boxers who are fearless and not overawed by the rivals. I believe the future of Indian boxing is very good,” Sandhu was quoted as saying by PTI.
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After Vijender’s bronze medal in Beijing, a lot was expected from India’s seven-member male boxing contingent at London, but Sandhu said the boys have done well despite there being no medal to show for.
“Devendro Singh (49kg) was very aggressive and fearless in all his bouts. He missed the medal by a whisker and against a formidable rival. Shiva Thapa (56kg) was a good, technical fighter but lost to a Mexican boxer after fighting two rounds on equal terms. In the third round, he went all out but lost the bout on points.
“Jai Bhagwan (60kg) started well and dominated the first round but could not reproduce the same form in the next two rounds. Manoj Kumar gave a very good account of himself too, losing to a host boxer in quarter-finals. Vijender was pitted against a tough Uzbek opponent in his quarter-final,” explained Sandhu.u00a0
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