The first thing that would come to mind for most when they hear the name 'Manoj Kumar' is a man wielding a plough,prancing around a field singing Meri Desh Ki Dhartinot to forget an array of patriotic tear-jerkers. So much so,that he was even coined with the sobriquet of 'Mr Bharat' in the Hindi film community. Off-late,however,there has been another Manoj Kumar who has been making waves in the country. While he shares the commanding personality and a similar love for his country with his namesake,his field of expertise involves providing entertainment of a different kind. The 24-year-old pugilist has become part of the first lot of Indians to punch their way through to the 2012 Olympics in London after reaching the quarterfinals of the 64 kg category at the World Championships held recently in Baku. And Kumar already is fostering starry dreams and dares to dream of ultimate glory. When the referee raised my hand in victory after the pre-quarterfinal,my joy knew no bounds. It was my childhood dream to participate in the Olympics and I am very happy to have achieved that, said the Haryana-based boxer who is associated with Olympic Gold Quest. This victory came against a technically sound Chinese boxer Qing Hu which made his performance extra special. According to Kumar,his combination of rapid punches,which he considers his major asset,kept him ahead throughout the bout. And it was this that gave him the edge and eventually a narrow 17-15 victory to secure the coveted berth in the Olympics. My punches are fast. I prepared well for the bout and used a series of quick all-round combination punches which left him with no answer, he said. Kumar will be looking to use this punching strength in forthcoming competitions on the road to the Olympics. But top priority for him will be gaining enough experience from all quarters ahead of the mega event. The World Championship quarterfinal saw him falter against English pugilist and European champion Thomas Stalker which has now strengthened his resolve to improve his performances especially against opponents from Europe. The calendar will be decided by the coaching staff but in all the tournaments I will want to gauge the techniques of the boxers from the different countries,especially the European ones,in order to prepare well for the Olympics, he said. Kumar was introduced to boxing by his elder brother Rajesh Kumar at the age of 13. After frequent trips to his brother's practice sessions,the junior Kumar began aping the hooks and uppercuts at home under the supervision of his elder sibling. This was the beginning of the coach-student relationship,that has flourished in recent times. Impressed with the rapid development of his ward,Rajesh was encouraged to field his first pupil in a mock bout. He in fact threw his brother into the deep end with a match-up against the state silver medalist and astonishingly Manoj Kumar came out victorious. Thus began his meteoric rise in the boxing circuit. After going on a winning spree at the local and state level he went on to bag a silver medal in the YMCA boxing tournament in 2003 and a gold in the next edition of the tournament. A couple of bronze medals in the senior circuit followed,but the highlight of his career still remains the Commonwealth Games at Delhi where he started the competition as a dark horse and ended up with a gold medal. Not one to rest on his laurels,Kumar is not keen on dwelling too much on past victories and wants to focus on the job at hand. He has already informed his sparring partners Neeraj Goyat and Vikas Krishnan to get their gloves ready to train for the Olympics. Kumar will want to pick up from where Vijender Singh left off and has dreams of the Indian flag fluttering high with the national anthem resounding in the background at the ExCeL Arena in London.
