When Jai Bhagwan won silver at the Asian Boxing Championship in Zhuhai, China more than two months ago, his team mates were not surprised. Bhagwan had won a bronze in the European GP a couple of weeks before that, and going by statistics, the rise from bronze to gold, championship by championship, has been Bhagwan’s forte.

“A couple of team mates have told me about this strange coincidence, which has occurred more than a couple of times, and we had a good laugh. As long as the medals keep coming,” says Bhagwan.

The 23-year old from a village near Bhiwani has been in fine form this year, winning against some top-ranked Asian and European boxers and believes that success against the Cubans will be the key at the world championship.

“The Asian championship gave me a lot of confidence. I would have loved to win gold, but even the silver medal was huge. We’ve got a chance to play against European and Asian boxers in the last few months, but playing against the Cubans in the worlds will be a challenge,” Bhagwan says.

After his 2005 Asian bronze, a back injury had put Bhagwan out of the game for more than one year and he began his comeback with a gold in the 2007 nationals. “It was tough. It is important to maintain your weight when you’re off practice and I played football and badminton for that,” he says.

The Haryana boxer also gives credit to the strict schedule at the NIS for his success. “The biggest factor in our improvement, apart from coaching, has been living together at NIS, Patiala. Most of us have not been to a university for higher studies but here we get the feeling of being in a university.”