•SHALINI GUPTA: How has life changed for you after the Beijing Olympics?

The difference I can feel after Beijing Olympics is that people know me and more importantly, my sport. Indian boxers remained unknown before Beijing and our efforts meant that youngsters became more eager to take up the sport. The place from where I come, Bhiwani, has seen the opening up of many boxing academies in the past year. One more difference is that our responsibilities have grown. Critics follow my performance and as an Olympic medalist, there is more scrutiny. This is good, as it means that we make greater efforts to improve our performance.

•VIPIN PUBBY: You were in fine form during the early rounds in the Beijing Olympics but once you reached the semis, it seemed as if the earlier victories had drained you mentally. Did the expectations and the whole media hype affect your performance?

It was not like that. All of us, including Akhil Kumar and Jeetinder Kumar, were quite confident right from the opening round. We had trained hard and as you saw, Akhil defeated the world champion in the pre-quarters and Jeetinder was also in fine form. We did not see any of the media coverage in India but we were aware that people back home had been following our performance closely. It only motivated us more to win a medal for India. The expectations and the media did not affect our game as we were focussed to win. I have been a boxer since the age of 13 and it is the only thing that has kept me motivated enough to perform well. Yes, it was heartening to see the support and appreciation which we got when we came back to India and it really felt special.

... contd.