NEW DELHI, April 8 (PTI): Vijender Singh (75kg) became the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third successive time after reaching the semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan today.
The first Indian to win an Olympic and World Championships medal � bronze in both events � Vijender outpunched Chuluuntumur Tumurkhuyag of Mongolia 27-17 to not just assure himself of an Olympic berth but also a medal at the ongoing tournament.
�I am back,� were Vijender�s first words while speaking to PTI from Astana after winning the crucial bout, a loss in which would have ended his hopes of making the London Games.
The 26-year-old had failed in his first attempt to book a ticket for London in last year�s World Championships. A
�I have answered all my critics, who said that I was finished (after losing in the first round of World Championships),� said the former world number one, who was gasping for breath after a draining encounter.
Before the 2008 Beijing Games, Vijender had won gold at the Asian Qualifiers at that time, which incidentally were also held in Kazakhstan.
�I will now give it my all in the Olympics and prove that I am the best. It�s such a relief to have got qualified. The fact that I am the first Indian boxer to have qualified for a third successive Olympics makes it all the more special,� he said. Vijender, a former World Championships bronze-medallist, had defeated Syria�s Ishak Waez in his pre-quarterfinal bout after getting an opening-round bye.
�His fitness and endurance were a revelation in today�s bout. He took me by surprise with the intensity with which he fought,� said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
�I don�t have words to describe how well he fought. It was a fantastic display by a proven talent,� he added.
Vijender had lost in the preliminaries of 2004 Athens Games but went on to clinch a bronze in the Beijing edition.
With his qualification for London, Vijender became the fifth Indian boxer to book a berth for the mega event.
India already have four Olympic berths through L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) who grabbed their slots after reaching the quarterfinals of the World Championships last year.
