'We used to give these boxers a hammering in the ring and now they are teaching youngsters how to defend. Come on man!'
'People like Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar were among the top boxers in the world, but instead of choosing them to train young boxers they are picking people who are yes men.'
India's boxers disappointed as they returned empty handed from the Paris Olympic Games.
Despite boasting of two World champions in Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain in their ranks, the Indian boxing team failed to live up to expectations in Paris.
Vijender Singh raised the profile of boxing in India and made it a household name following his historic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
M C Mary Kom then became the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal after claiming bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.
Though the Indian boxers failed to win a medal at the 2016 Rio Games, Borgohain won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics to give the sport a much needed boost in the country.
In Paris all the big names fizzled out, but young Nishant Dev showed promise as he narrowly missed out on a medal after a controversial result in his quarter-final bout.
Vijender, the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal, was upset by India's poor showing in boxing at the Paris Games and believes the Boxing Federation of India should bring in capable Indian coaches to replace the foreign coaches.
"Things are not functioning properly. Nowadays, they only have observers and the boxers are selected on the basis of their scores, there are no trials to decide who is the best," Vijender Singh tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian in an exclusive interview.
Your Olympics medal at the 2008 Games brought boxing into the limelight in India.
Of course, that was the first medal by an Indian boxer. But I consider my seniors Dingko Singh, Jitender Singh and Gurusharan Singh as better boxers than me. They also tried very hard to get Olympics medals but missed out narrowly losing in the quarter-finals, they are my heroes.
I won the medal, I don't know how I did it, but I did it. Of course, it was not easy. But I think if you believe in it, if you dream of it, then you will get there.
I would say it was my destiny. Maybe I was the chosen one.
You are the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. What did that achievement mean for you back then in 2008?
That medal made me Vijender Singh.
Before that Olympics, not many people knew me, but the medal brought me fame and recognition. People started recognising me as Vijender Singh and it was all because of my boxing.
Did things change for Indian boxing as well after that medal?
Yes, there were a lot of changes. I remember when I used to train at Bhiwani there was only one SAI centre in those days but today if you see there are nearly 15 to 20 boxing academies.
The National Institute of Sports in Patiala used to be non a/c back then but after 2008 they installed a/cs while another new centre opened and similarly lot of developments took place.
Today if you see if you need anything or if something is lacking you can post on social media and it will create a huge buzz, but in our days this was not the case. So huge changes have definitely taken place.
Tell me about your struggles before 2008.
I didn't have money in those days and that is why I took up boxing. I worked hard, I struggled a lot to reach where I am today.
I remember before 2008 I had never been to Mumbai. In my dreams I always used to see myself talking to Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Salman Khan or Akshay Kumar and finally one day that dream come true after that Olympic medal. And now I am also acting in movies.
Those days I was not financially strong but Dil se main Raja tha (I had a big heart) if I can say that and I will always be like that.
Your success provided the spark for Indian boxing as M C Mary Kom went on to win bronze in 2012 and Lovlina Borgohain won another bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games. But in the Paris Olympics India's boxers failed to win a single medal.
What would you say went wrong?
I was very disappointed that we could not win a single medal.
I would say involvement of foreign coaches should not be that much like it is now. Things are not functioning properly. Nowadays, they only have observers and the boxers are selected on the basis of their scores, there are no trials to decide who is the best.
I have seen that some coaches who were then when I was actively competing they are still there, I feel they need to change coaches regularly.
The only exception is if the girls and boys are happy with the coaches, then keep them or else look for somebody else.
We have so many good coaches in India who I am sure can steer Indian boxing in the right direction.
Along with the Olympic medal, your other big achievements include the gold and bronze medals at the Asian Games, bronze in the World Championships in 2009 and two silvers and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
Would you be interested in coaching the Indian boxers if the Boxing Federation approaches you?
Yes of course! I would love to coach Indian boxers.
But they (Boxing Federation of India) have never involved me in boxing. I don't know why.
Maybe I was in the Congress, that could be the reason. I am not sure. Now I am in the BJP, and still nothing.
They never got me involved in any kind of coaching or mentoring. They never called me or told me 'Viju, we need you to help out with boxing.' This kind of thing never happened. I don't know why.
Has any current Indian boxer or any youngster approached you to help them?
No. Boxers in the past like Shiv Thapa and others of that time they used to talk to me. But when there is a gap the boxers carry on with their regular training and we also get busy with our own lives.
If the Boxing Federation or the sports ministry put me in touch with the young boys then it will be a good start for me and the boxers as well.
We have some top former boxers like Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar and others but you know the boxers who were ranked 5th or 6th in our weight category they are training the youngsters in the camp.
We used to give them a hammering in the ring and now they are teaching the youngsters on how to defend. Come on man!
This is a sad state of affairs for Indian boxing.
People like Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar were among the top boxers in the world during their time but instead of choosing them to train the young boxers they are picking people who are yes men, who do their work.
I just want to say that people who are chaplus (manipulative) they should be thrown out and deserving people should be picked in their place.
Your state Haryana is emerging as the sports capital of India. This time, three out of the five medals won by Indians at the Paris Olympics were by athletes from Haryana including Manu Bhaker (2 bronze) and Neeraj Chopra (1 silver). In the past too we had Sushil Kumar, who won two Olympic medals.
What is the secret behind Haryana's success?
I would say the sports environment. People from Haryana have their feet on the ground, they are not people who show off. We talk from the heart and we say it on the face that's what makes us different.
Our diet is very healthy, we have a lot of milk and ghee in our daily diet.
And there was a big change in the scenario after 2008. People were looking for heroes and they found one in Sushil Kumar in wrestling, Vijender Singh in boxing and Abhinav Bindra in shooting. So that was a big turning point for the sporting culture of Haryana.
Your fellow Haryanvis Manu Bhaker at 22 and Neeraj Chopra at 26 have two Olympic medals each. A word on their stupendous achievement at such a young age.
It is such a big achievement. It all started when Sushil Kumar won the Olympic medal at the 2008 Olympics, he won another medal in 2012. I narrowly missed out on my second medal in 2012.
Manu and Neeraj worked hard and gave it their all to achieve success on the big stage. In the last Olympics, Manu didn't do well but she showed great resolve to bounce back after that setback and won a record two medals in Paris.
Neeraj has set such high standards, it is just unbelievable. He is supremely fit and so consistent. After the Olympics he didn't come back but went to Germany to work on his fitness that shows his dedication and commitment.
What holds the future for Vijender? You have done boxing, acting, politics...
There is a famous song Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, yahan kal kya hoga kisne jaana...(Life is a beautiful journey. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?)
Even I don't know what happens next, whatever will come in my path I will take it up. I have doing a few shoots, TV and movies.
Any plans to give back to boxing -- maybe an academy to train youngsters?
Why not? If the government supports me, I will definitely plan for an academy.
If you are saying I should come up with my own academy then for that I need time and lot of money. Maybe in the future, when I have the money and time, I will build an academy.
Lastly, a question which the entire nation wants to know: Why did Vijender leave the Congress and join the BJP?
This is a very big question on everyone's mind.
I will answer this whenever my biopic movie comes out. I don't want to divulge the secret now.
