Vijender Singh’s trial by fire begins

Sitting along one of the side rings,watching the bout,was Dinesh Kumar. “Rehne do refereeji,woh apni bhaavnaon pe kaboo nahi laga paya,” he smirked. As a ripple of laughter spread across the hall,even Vijender couldn’t help but glance at Dinesh and grin. Also Read: Vijender takes leave days before trials for Worlds

Until that moment,Vijender had seemed incapable of anything other than nervousness. He was the last among the competitors to arrive at the boxing hall,reaching the venue from his hostel room a little less than half an hour before his bout. He slipped in from a side entrance and instead of making his way to the area where the rest of his compatriots were warming up prior to or cooling down post their bouts,chose to sit on a plastic chair in a corner alongside a group of NIS hostelers who were watching the trials.

Even as Sukhdeep Singh,a promising contender also in the middleweight category,impressed with his movement and weaving,Vijender continued to sit in the chair,looking away from the action. Someone hoping to get a picture of the Olympic bronze medalist was told off,with Vijender moving his palms parallel either side of his head,emphasising his need to focus. Also Read: Cut shortens Devendro Singh’s outing,others stay cautious

Vijender’s request was understandable,especially as he has been on the news in the past few months for few of the right reasons. After being forced to train in Sonepat while his name was linked to a drug scandal,he had missed the trials for the Asian championships a couple of months ago. The long period away from training had resulted in him considering a shift from middleweight to light heavyweight,before realising a few days before the trials he could only make his old category. He was technically overweight at 75.3kg,but the boxers had all been given a 1kg leeway considering it was a long while till the world Championships.

He had only returned to the national camp in Patiala recently,before having to take leave just a few days before the trials – ostensibly to attend to film commitments. The selections trials for the world championships were crucial not just for the nature of the final event but even as his first competition of any sort since the 2012 Olympics. He finally had to get up when a group of schoolchildren came up and huddled alongside him. As his bout was next,he began stretching and warming up – again away from the rest of the boxers. He only made his way alongside them for Harisankar Varma,India’s physio,to thickly smear his face with Vaseline – a boxer’s safeguard against cuts during bouts. As he paced alongside the ring,Vijender obsessively wrapped and re-wrapped his fists.

Safety first

Stripping to a red vest and shorts,Vijender chose to wear a headguard. The trials were originally supposed to be held without headgear but after a nasty cut to Devendro Singh earlier in the day,Vijender,as most other boxers,decided to err on the side of caution.

His opponent,though only 20,was far from a pushover — Jaideep Singh is the current national silver medalist and one marked out for the future.

The bout began evenly. Giving away a couple of inches in reach,Jaideep tried to work busily into the body while Vijender worked from behind his let jab,throwing the right as a variation.

Perhaps Dinesh’s wisecrack helped Vijender calm down. Dinesh,certainly thought so. “It wasn’t as if we were booing the other boxer,but if Vijender needed to box well,I just wanted him to be relaxed,” he said later.

From there on,the bout was all Vijender. It was simply a masterclass. Against an able opponent,he moved beautifully,struck accurately and stitched together combinations. At the end of a round while his opponent slumped back to his seat,Vijender stood in his corner,chirping to his cornerman and at Dinesh on the side.

Jaideep tried to come back with a few solid body shots in the last round but Vijender must clearly have won on all the judges’ scorecards. For the first time in the day,the audience in the hall clapped.

It was the old Vijender who showed up post-match. He shared a bear-hug with Dinesh and several greetings with other teammates including a former one in Akhil Kumar. There was also a bit of friendly verbal sparring with coach Kutappa,who had left his training center at the Army Sports Institute (ASI),Pune,to help Vijender at Sonepat earlier this year. “Good game monkey!,” said Kutappa,patting Vijender on the back. “Monkey” is his term of endearment to anyone who is quick and intelligent,and Vijender was plenty quick on Tuesday.

Vijenxder acknowledged requests for photographs and even found time to prepare his opponent for his second bout on Wednesday. In all likelihood,he will play Sukhdeep,the other impressive middleweight,and after his bout,joined the 21-year-old in watching the remaining bouts of the day. “We were watching the light heavyweight bouts and he kept asking me about whose defense was better. I thought he would ask me about my own game but he never said anything about it. I don’t know if he was trying to psych me out,” Vijender said.