- Vijender Kumar
Infobox person
name = Vijender Kumar
imagesize = 260px
caption = Vijender Kumar (left in Blue) in action at2008 Summer Olympics
birth_date = birth date|1985|10|29
birth_place = Kaluwas (5 km fromBhiwani ),Haryana flagicon|IndiaIndia
height = convert|182|cm|ftin|abbr=on
nationality =India n
citizenship =India n
occupation = BoxerMiddleweight Vijender Kumar ( _hi. विजेन्द्र कुमार) (b.
October 29 ,1985 ) (also known as Vijender Singh or simply Vijender) is anIndia n boxer. He became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze medal in the middleweight category at2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing .Career
Early Career
Vijender boxed recreationally in his childhood and used to go to the
Bhiwani Sports Authority of India center for boxing practice, where coachJagdish Singh picked his talent. Vijender belongs to the Bishnoi (Jat) family. Vijender won a silver medal in his first sub-junior nationals and then finished the 2nd sub-junior in the same position. Vijender won medals in junior national competitions after that and he was picked to visit several countries likeCuba for further training and competitions.Athens Olympics 2004
At the
2004 Athens Olympics , Vijender contested in the welterweight division, but lost toMustafa Karagollu ofTurkey by 20-25.Commonwealth Games 2006
At the
2006 Commonwealth Games , he defeatedEngland 'sNeil Perkins in the semis but lost toSouth Africa 'sBongani Mwelase , who went on to win the gold.He went up a division and competed in the Middleweight (-75 kg) division at the 2006 Asian Games winning the bronze medal in a lost semifinal bout against
Kazakhstan 'sBakhtiyar Artayev 24-29. [ [http://www.doha-2006.com/gis/SPORTS/BX/IGBXBoutResult.aspx?rscid=0-075-2-02-00002-2 Middleweight semifinal results] ]At the second qualifier he won the tournament and qualified for
2008 Beijing Olympics .Beijing Olympics 2008
Vijender had a great start at the
2008 Summer Olympics defeatingBadou Jack ofGambia 13-2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, he defeatedAngkhan Chomphuphuang ofThailand 13-3 to reach the Middleweight Boxing Quarterfinals. He beat southpawCarlos Góngora ofEcuador 9-4 in the quarterfinals onAugust 20 ,2008 which guaranteed him a medal, the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer. He lost 5-8 to Cuba'sEmilio Correa in the semi-finals on 22nd August 2008 and shared a bronze medal. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/boxing/7576191.stm "India's Kumar wins boxing bronze"] , BBC, August 22, 2008]Bout results:
*DefeatedBadou Jack (Gambia) 13-2
*DefeatedAngkhan Chomphuphuang (Thailand) 13-3
*DefeatedCarlos Góngora (Ecuador) 9-4
*Lost toEmilio Correa Jr. (Cuba) 5-8Personal Life
Vijender was born in Kaluwas village, 5 km from
Bhiwani ,Haryana . His father, Mahipal Singh, is a bus driver (who drove buses overtime to raise funds for Vijender's training [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-m2Gyb-lDXNYglaR2eQC16Yn7qg AFP: Indian boxer Vijender mobbed after historic win] ] ) and his mother is a homemaker. He was inspired by his younger brother Manoj, a former boxer himself, who is now in the Indian Army. Vijender did his primary schooling from Kaluwas, secondary school from Bhiwani and finally a bachelor's degree from Vaish College. He worked overtime to pay for coaching at the Bhiwani Boxing Club. After achieving success at the international level he also did modeling part-time. Vijender currently works for theHaryana Police . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7482661.stm Against the Odds: Vijender Kumar, BBC] ]Vijender's hometown of Kaluwas erupted with celebrations on 20th August after Vijender was assured of an Olympic medal. His hometown watched the bouts on a single television set in a specially rigged tent for the event. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-m2Gyb-lDXNYglaR2eQC16Yn7qg Sify: Bhiwani, country erupt after Vijender win] ]
See also
*
India at the 2008 Summer Olympics
*Boxing at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Middleweight References
reflist
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7482661.stm Against all odds - BBC coverage of Vijender Kumar]
* [http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/Participants/Participants?ID=105992 Commonwealth 2006]
* [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/8/205928.shtml Olympics 2008 Bio]
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