Vijender Singh said he is doing high intensity training ahead of his much-awaited title fight at home and hopes to 'knockout' Australian Kerry Hope early for the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Championship crown.
Olympic hero Vijender Singh was, on Saturday, ousted in the very first round, upstaged by his Cuban nemesis Emilio Correa Bayeux, but Jai Bhagwan entered the second round on a mixed day for Indian boxers at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Vijender Singh (75kg) took just over a minute to pull off an intimidating knock-out win and assure himself of a second successive Commonwealth Games medal. However, it was curtains for defending champion Akhil Kumar who was beaten by Olympic bronze-medallist Bruno Julie in the boxing quarter-finals of the event in New Delhi on Sunday.
Vijender Singh, whose dream of bagging back-to-back Olympic medals came crashing down on Monday, is planning to switch to the light-heavyweight category (81 kg) in a bid to win more medals.
The "burden" of qualification off his back, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh is now gearing up to shoulder a fresh burden -- the one of heightened expectations -- when he appears in his third successive Olympic Games in London in July-August.
For the first time, three top sportspersons -- boxers M C Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, and wrestler Sushil Kumar -- were selected for the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. While the prestigious award was previously shared by two sportspersons in 1996-97 and 2002-03, Wednesday marked the first time that three were picked for the coveted honour for outstanding performances in 2008-09.
The cricket fraternity, including new T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav and new head coach Gautam Gambhir, also joined in to congratulate the duo.
Worried about the administrative logjam in Indian boxing, recently-crowned WBO Asia Pacific champion Vijender Singh pleaded with the officials to put together a new federation at the earliest for the sake of country's pugilists.
Delay in getting visas has prevented Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh and Dinesh Kumar from joining the Indian boxing team in Bugeat, France for a training trip and the duo will now head straight to the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on September 20.
Former European champion Kerry Hope was on Monday unveiled as Indian boxing star Vijender Singh's opponent for the eagerly-anticipated WBO Asia title bout to be held on July 16 in New Delhi.
The BJP will hold a legislature party meeting on Wednesday evening to decide the new chief minister of Delhi. The party won the February 5 assembly elections, ending the Aam Aadmi Party's five-year rule. The meeting will be held at the party's Delhi unit office and is expected to begin around 7 pm. The 48 BJP MLAs will choose the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly, who will become the chief minister. The meeting will be held in the presence of BJP's central observers, whose names are yet to be declared. The new chief minister, after being chosen by the party MLAs, will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at the Raj Niwas to stake claim to power. A grand swearing-in ceremony of the new government is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Ramleela Ground. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony. The names doing the rounds for the new chief minister include Parvesh Verma, Vijender Gupta, Satish Upadhyay, Pawan Sharma, Ashish Sood, Rekha Gupta, Shikha Rai, Ravinder Indraj Singh, and Kailash Gangwal. Many within the party believe that the BJP leadership could choose a "dark horse" as Delhi's next chief minister.
Samet Hyuseinov has promised to send Vijender Singh back to India 'beaten and broken' come December 19 but the Indian boxing star merely breaks into laughter at the very mention of the threat, saying he would respond in kind inside the ring. Speaking to PTI from Manchester, Vijender (75kg) said he has increased his sparring sessions ahead of his third bout and is focusing on endurance and power. "How do you respond to such threats? I can only laugh, let him say what he feels like. He has all the freedom to say what he wants. But I talk only in the ring and in a language he will understand quite well," the former Olympic World Championships bronze-medallist said.
'Boxing is all about being aggressive and maintaining a tempo while you are in the ring. I film-making I realised how important it was to take a step back and be patient.'
The London Olympics disappointment behind him, Indian boxing star Vijender Singh is all set to pack a heavier punch from next year when he goes up a division to light heavyweight (81kg) for the World Championships.
The Delhi high court on Monday said the state government dragged its feet on the issue of tabling of several Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports before the assembly, raising 'doubts on its bona fides'.
Vijender Singh (75kg) turned in a solid showing despite being down with viral fever to beat Sweden's Hampus Henriksson in his opening bout at the World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.
Beijing Olympics bronze medallis Vijender Singh breaks his silence on the sensational drug scandal that severely hurt his reputation, insisting it has left him stronger and wiser.
With Vikas Krishan making the cut for Olympics in the 75kg category, the door is shut on the much celebrated Vijender Singh, who was eyeing qualification to the Rio Games ever since the International Boxing Association (AIBA) allowed professional boxers to compete in the quadrennial showpiece.
More than eight months after he won India its first Olympic medal in boxing, Vijender Singh returns to the ring, confident that the time away from action would not make him rusty when he dons the gloves in a European Grand Prix event from May 13 to 18. The 23-year-old middle weight bronze medallist from the Beijing Olympics would be up against top boxers from Europe and Cuba in the event.
He rose from anonymity with a bronze in Beijing that was as good as gold for Indian boxing but set for an unprecedented third Olympic appearance, Vijender Singh wants to remain oblivious -- at least to the pressure that comes with being one of the country's biggest stars at the greatest sporting show on earth.
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh is ready to trade blows with Pakistan-born British professional Amir Khan and accepted his challenge to fight in India, saying it will prove to be a big boost to the sport in the country. Two-time former world champion, Amir, who has been training intensively for his much-anticipated WBC title contest against Mexico's Saul 'Canelo Alvarez want to fight against Vijender soon in India. Commenting on Amir Khan's challenge, Vijender said: "I accept the challenge of Amir Khan and I am sure this fight will be a big boost to boxing in our country. "As we both fight in different weight categories so will have to see whether Amir gains or I have to lose weight. I have started my professional boxing career last year only and have made only 4 appearances in the pro ring.
The Olympics bronze medallist will co-host 'The Contender', an adaption of a popular US television series that is based a group of boxers who compete against each other in a single elimination style competition.
'It is gruelling but I am enjoying the grind. My body hasn't felt better'
Mandaviya, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha unveiled the ceremonial outfit, playing kits, performance shoes and travel gear for the Indian team.
The Asian Olympic Qualifiers are his last chance to book a ticket to the London Games but starIndian boxer Vijender Singh claims he is least bit intimidated by the challenge at hand as the situation is all too familiar.
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh's power-packed punches went unchallenged yet again as he notched up his fifth successive knockout win.
With 'dafli' beats in the background, AAP leaders held placards with photos of Ambedkar and raised slogans against the ruling party -- "BJP sun le, Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim" ... "BJP ki tanashahi nahin chalegi (BJP's dictatorship won't work)".
Vijender, who won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has signed up with popular British boxing promoter Francis Warren in the UK.
The 25-year-old pugilist from Bhiwani tells Harish Kotian, winning an Olympic gold medal is his dream and he is leaving no stone unturned to achieve it.
As he gears up to chase his 'London Dreams' with the first Olympic qualifiers next month, star Indian boxer Vijender Singh is not just working hard on his game, he is also trying to figure out an all-new system of scoring that has left him "confused".
Indian boxer Vijender Singh on Sunday announced that he will tie the knot with a Delhi girl on Tuesday.
Olympic bronze medallist and middle weight (75kg) top seed Vijender Singh started his campaign in style, beating Kazakhstan's Azamat Belgibayev to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the World Boxing Championships in Milan, on Saturday. The 23-year-old world number two, who was conferred the Khel Ratna award last month, defeated his rival 14-8.
Coaching crisis, heartbreaks and Olympic setbacks mark a disastrous year for Indian boxing
As part of his preparations for next year's London Olympics, Asian Games gold medallist boxer Vijender Singh is considering shifting his base to Europe for training in the run-up to the mega event.
It is the the biggest fight of his emergent professional career, but Indian boxing star Vijender Singh said the WBO Asia title contest against Kerry Hope is no huge deal for him and he is taking it as just another stepping stone in the circuit. The 30-year-old dasher, who is unbeaten in the professional arena, has won all his bouts via konckouts. Eyeing a seventh knockout in what is meant to be a 10-round contest, Vijender said his approach to the contest is no different from the one he had for his previous bouts.
In a fresh development, the investigating officers have revealed that the man arrested with heroin did not mention Vijender Singh. The boxer is only being probed because of the car found outside that Zirakpur flat.
Vijender Singh might say that he would give Olympic qualification a shot after doors were thrown open for professional boxers but his UK-based promoter Francis Warren, on Monday, made it clear that India's biggest star simply does not have the time left to try for a Rio ticket.
The BJP has fielded former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against Arvind Kejriwal.
No Indian athlete since Independence has won multiple medals at a single Games.
Nita Ambani, the chairperson at Reliance Foundation and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from India, hosted a gala dinner in honour of Thomas Bach, IOC president.
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