Dinesh searches for silver lining after missing gold in Guangzhou

A medal is important,but not unless it is a golden one, says Indian boxer Dinesh Kumar,who bagged silver in the 81kg category in the Asian Games.

A medal is important,but not unless it is a golden one, says Indian boxer Dinesh Kumar,who bagged silver in the 81kg category in the Asian Games. At a felicitation function,where top boxers like Vijender Singh and Vikas Krishan caught the eye of media,Dinesh stood alongside Paramjeet Samota in a corner,waiting for his turn to interact with the reporters and the shutterbugs. He feels that a win at the Asian Games could have given him a spot along Vijender Singh,but says that he still needs to put in a lot more effort.

During his final bout against Uzbekistans Elshod Rasulov,Dinesh knows that he was too defensive and because of that,the Uzbek took advantage and won with his aggression. I didnt attack half as much as I should have,while Elshod did. I was employing a mixed strategy,but Elshod was more focussed on one aspect of the game, adds Kumar,who was awarded a sum of Rs 50,000 from IABF president Abhay Singh Chautala.

It obviously hurts to lose at a stage such as the final,but Dinesh probably feels the pinch a little more because of the way the bout had shaped up until his strategy went wrong. The picture could have been different had he won his last encounter; he might have even been standing at the front row of boxers during the felicitation.

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But for Dinesh,the story has been about missing out on the big events,unlike his compatriots,who have all won in some major tournament or the other.

Sometimes even I feel that I could have pulled a win if I had applied the right tactics but then hard work has no short cut. I believe in hard work and know that I need to improve on attack and speed, adds Kumar.

While he might have ended up losing by a huge difference of 10-4,he says that the Uzbek was riding high on experience. Although the strategy went wrong,Dinesh dished out equal blame to the scoring in the final. But in the end,he agrees that it despite all the excuses,the Uzbek boxer is a true champion and deserved the victory because he managed to make the moment count. He is a three time champion. But I have learnt a lot from the experience and will only grow in confidence from my performance in Guangzhou. I have learnt a few tricks and hopefully I will be able to utilise them soon. The opportunity isnt too far away,with the World Championships next year as the main focus for the Indian boxers,especially since a win could be a ticket to the London Olympics.

Thankfully I am fit and my aim is to prepare hard for the World Championships. I need to work upon my skills and whatever faults I may have developed. I know there is a lot of pressure in the lead up to the Championships but I can promise that once I reach the gold medal round,I wont make the same mistake again.

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Dinesh searches for silver lining after missing gold in Guangzhou

A medal is important,but not unless it is a golden one, says Indian boxer Dinesh Kumar,who bagged silver in the 81kg category in the Asian Games.

A medal is important,but not unless it is a golden one, says Indian boxer Dinesh Kumar,who bagged silver in the 81kg category in the Asian Games.