Tokyo bound pugilist Manish Kaushik all set to carry forward Vijender Singh and Mary Kom’s legacy at the Tokyo Olympics

Indian ace pugilist Manish Kaushik believes that veterans like Vijender Singh and Mary Kom have played a big role in increasing the popularity of Boxing among the Indians. He also adds that they are the reason for India’s ambitions in global arenas.

Vijender Singh created history by clinching the first Olympic medal in Boxing for India in Beijing way back in 2008. That created a ripple effect among youngsters to take up boxing in the country. Four years later it was Mary Kom who clinched another medal for the country kept the legacy alive. Kaushik who will be travelling to Tokyo for his maiden Olympics will hope to keep the tradition intact.

“‘Vijender and M.C.Mary Kom are the two boxers who gave us self-belief that we too can dream of bringing Olympics medals,’’ Manish Kaushik told Gulf News.

The Tokyo bound pugilist incidentally is from Vijender Singh hometown in Bhiwani in Haryana. He won the silver medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and later his victory at the Asian Qualifiers over Commonwealth champion Harrison Garside earned him the spot at the Tokyo Olympics.

However, his preparations have been hindered after he contracted with the COVID-19. While he is back in training right now, he rues the missed opportunity of featuring in the Asian Championships in Dubai.

‘‘I am fine now and back in training. Yes, it would have been good to play in Dubai as it was our last event before Tokyo but you have no control over certain things,’’ said the pugilist who is currently training in Patiala.

Kaushik has shown glimpses of his brilliance in Boxam International where he clinched the gold medal defeating World No. 4 Safuillin Zakir. He considers that tournament in Spain as a wonderful experience.

“He (Zakir) is a top boxer. It was a wonderful experience. This was my first competition after the qualifiers and to get gold and beat Zakir was fantastic. There was a lot of pressure. I was anxious to know how my body would react after the injury,’’ he said.

The Indian boxing contingent is set to train abroad ahead of the all-important Summer Games. However, the destination for the three-week training camp is not confirmed yet. The 25-year-old feels training abroad has helped Indian boxers assess their own game.

“Previously, from each weight category, there would have been only one boxer who would be allowed to go abroad to train or compete. It has now changed with the second, third, and sometimes even fourth-ranked boxers being sent abroad to train. That helped us a lot,’’ he signed off.