Vijender thanks critics, coach hails his mettle

Vijender Singh might have reached great heights by becomingthe first boxer in the history of Indian boxing to have confirmed a medal atWorld Championship but the confident Delhi boy hasn't forgotten to give creditto his critics.

"I want to thank my critics. Had they not criticized me, Imight not have reached this far. It ignites a fire inside me when theycriticize you and this gives you the confidence that you have to put in your100% this time", said Olympic bronze medalist Vijender.

Overwhelmed by endless wishes from his supporters, Vijenderalso thanked everyone for their blessings. "Thank you very much for your wellwishes for all of us. My semi-final with Uzbekistan is tomorrow and I hope thatI can put in my 100% this time".

When asked about being under pressure because of Beijingmedal, the dashing boxer said he loves to take up challenges as theseopportunities come once in a while.

"It feels good to play under pressure. You don't get thisagain and again. They remain mere memories. There is a different feeling whenyou play under pressure."

Feeling bad for Dinesh Kumar and Jai Bhagwan, Vijenderrecalled how their conviction of winning a medal turned into reality.

"We feel bad that Dinesh could not win in the quarterfinals.But both Dinesh and Jai Bhagwan were both my room partners. Jai Bhagwan hadsaid much earlier that the medal will come from this room. And his words cametrue. The coach's face was worth a glimpse. Only I can understand what theywent through. All of India was watching and there was no medal as yet. I knewthat I had to put in my 100% again. God listened to me and I am glad for that."

While coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was all praise for hisdisciple and showed confidence in getting a notch ahead.

"We are more than happy and feel very proud that we havedone this and India has won the first medal in world championship. Now our aimis to change the color of the medal as soon as possible"

Coach Sandhu also hailed Vijender's intelligence and his wayof handling things despite being under pressure after Dinesh's ouster.

"He had boxed very well in the previous two bouts and he hadimpressed everyone. And now there was a lot of pressure on him since Dinesh hadlost. And this boy is also world ranking. He is from a good boxing league. Sothere was a lot of pressure. But I think he is very intelligent, cool andshrewd. He is able to manage things and he is able to do it. Before enteringthe bout he said, don't worry, I'll do it. In the round when he began in thefirst round he began scoring. In the first round he was leading by one pointand in the second round he was leading by 4 points. Ultimately he won by 12 4."

When asked about Vijender's chances in the upcoming crucialbouts, Sandhu accepted the difficulties ahead but sounded confident enough to improvethe grade.

"The bouts after this are very tough. Because all theplayers who have reached this level are seeded or they have defeated seededplayers. Seeded players means top ranking players. You can't take any boxerlightly now. Every bout will be touch and go. So the bouts are going to be verytough. Let us see how Vijender is able to manage the pressure and perform but Iam confident that he will be able to change the colour of the medal".