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Journalism of Courage
The Talkatora Stadium,which has been witnessing a good turn-out so far,was filled to the brim on Friday as fans thronged the boxing competition venue to witness Vijender Singh in action. Among others in the stands were Congress secretary general Rahul Gandhi,Robert Vadra and Athens Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. And they all got their moneys worth as the world No.1 middleweight (75kg) boxer decimated his hapless opponent Dick Ombaka of Kenya,winning the fight 15-1 (the referee eventually had to stopped the lopsided contest) to advance into the quarter-finals.
Besides Vijender,Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Paramjit Samota (91+) also made it to the last-eight with convincing victories. India now have half-a-dozen boxers,one step away from the medal round.
But one name that is hogging more limelight than the rest put together is Vijender. The 24-year-old Bhiwani boxer,who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships at this venue in May,was was cautious to begin with,but soon turn the heat on the Kenyan,unleashing a barrage of punches. Such was his domination that the referee put an end to the misery in the second round.
I was bit slow in the first round but once my eyes settled in,it became easy for me, said Vijender who was hugged by Rahul after the bout.
I knew it would be a massive turnout for my bout,and when I walked in,it was quite intimidating to see so many people. Mr Rahul Gandhi was there in the audience,so it was obviously very special.
While Vijender faces Elias Nashivella of Namibia in the quarters,Jai Bhagwan takes on Waheed Sogbamu,a Nigerian.
In the pre-quarters,Jai Bhagwan ended the challenge of Naseer Mafaru of Tanzania with a 11-2 win. Known for his unique style of swirling his right hand before landing the punch,the Haryana lad collected most of his points in the initial 30 seconds of each round.
I like to start aggressively. I knew that most of the crowd have come to see Vijender box and it still motivated me a lot, he said.
Meanwhile,Akhil Kumar takes on Iain Weaver in the bantamweight on Saturday.
