He has hardly slept since his arrival from Bangkok. He headed straight for home from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, only to return here this evening to take the train to Mumbai tonight. To Akhil Kumar, it is top priority to seek the blessings of the Sai Baba in Shirdi (near Pune).

Deeply religious, the Bhiwani boxer is on cloud nine after his gold-winning performance in the Asian Olympic qualifying championships, but he has his feet firmly planted on the ground.

“It was a wonderful experience. Now I am confident of putting my best foot forward in Beijing. Beating Worapoj Petchkoom, a local hero, was the biggest boost I received during the championship, and I can look forward to winning a medal in Beijing,” said Akhil during a brief meeting here today. Where did he rank the medal and win in Bangkok? “Definitely, above everything else I have won so far. I have nine gold, a silver and three bronze from my international appearances. But I value this one the most because of its sheer importance. But my best is yet to come,” he warned.

Even national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu fumbles for words to praise his ward. “It was simply superb. I would say, the best I have seen of Akhil. He was confidence personified and it reflected in the final bout on Saturday against the Athens Olympics silver medallist. The entire crowd was rooting for the local pugilist, but when Akhil won with a convincing margin (21-11), he received a standing ovation from the appreciative audience. It was a wonderful sight,” he said. Akhil, the cool guy that he is, would not want to be compared with Dingko Singh, who was a rage after he won the Asian Games gold in Bangkok in 1998. “No, Dingko is a great boxer. I haven’t yet reached his stature. He was too good,” he blushed.

... contd.