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First round of applause
Boxers Vijender and Jai Bhagwan keep India’s hopes alive after Thapa’s ouster. With seven boxers having qualified, India can take a lot of pride that they are among the leading nations in the sport. Saurabh Duggal writes.
As he entered the ring and prepared to put on his protective head gear, the handsome Vijender Singh touched his hair, almost to check if every strand was in order. Was there any room for vanity on the Olympic boxing, one began to wonder. But such assumptions were quickly blown away once the Beijing Olympic bronze winner began landing his punches, calmly looking for openings through the tentatively held up guard of his Kazakh opponent, Danabek Suzhanov.
Make no mistake, boxing could well be the toughest competition at the Olympics. Every single boxer comes through tough qualifying tournaments which means there is absolutely no room for passengers at this level. Each bout is almost a fight for survival. The word ‘favourite’ is not thrown around casually.
With seven boxers having qualified, India can take a lot of pride that they are among the leading nations in the sport. But the bubble was pricked straightaway after the baby of the bunch, 56 kg pugilist Shiva Thapa, lost.
And like Vijender (75 kg) late on Saturday night, Jai Bhagwan too dominated his opening bout in 60 kg, providing cheer to the contingent.
Vijender, the Beijing bronze medalist and Asian Games champion didn't strain too much against Danabek Suzhanov of Kazakhstan, winning 14-10 on points.
He was all smiles after the bout. A sterner test appears to be in store in the pre-quarters on August 2, against Terrell Gausha of the US. “I was confident of winning the bout and I did it,” Vijender said. “I played my natural game, and nowhere in the bout did I face any difficulty. The first chapter is closed, now my focus is on the next bout.”
Vijender has never faced Gausha, but he is no stranger to the American. “I have seen him box at the 2009 world championships, where he won a bronze,” Gausha said.
Time for revenge
Jai Bhagwan, like Vijender, took a straight punch on the face late in the bout while looking to play it safe, but he was too good for Senegal’s Allisop Saylom, winning 18-8.
Jai admitted to early butterflies in the stomach. “At the start I was a little nervous, this is my first Olympics and I was also tense how the scoring system would work here. But once I got the lead, my confidence went up. After that I didn’t allow him any room to attack me,” he said.
Jai is looking to exact revenge against his next opponent, Kazakhstan’s Gani Zhailauov. He lost to the Kazakh at last year’s the world championships by a single point and Zhailauov went on to grab the bronze. “I have met him twice. I won the first time and lost the next bout. Now it’s my time to take revenge.”
Superstitious coach
With India desperately searching for momentum in their campaign, a superstitious chief national coach GS Sandhu changed the dress he wore for Thapa’s bout, including his turban, before Vijender took to the ring, for a change of luck. And it worked beautifully. “At times it works, and I am in no mood to take any chances,” said a relieved Sandhu.
