Vijender is No 1 boxer in the world

Vijender Singh added one more feather to his cap on Tuesday. The Bhiwani-based boxer moved up a rung — to world No.1— in the middleweight category in the latest AIBA rankings released on Tuesday.

For the first time, Vijender has been ranked number one in his weight category. He had earlier become the first Indian boxer to win a medal in Olympics, when he claimed a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. He followed it up with India’s maiden medal at the World Championships in Milan last month. He won a bronze in Milan after going down to eventual champion Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan.

“It would have been great if I had achieved the No.1 ranking by winning gold in Milan, instead on settling for the bronze,” Vijender told DNA on Tuesday.

“But I’m obviously elated at being ranked number one in the world. It’s a fantastic feeling and would motivate me, especially with Commonwealth Games coming up next year.”

Vijender collected 700 points for his last four appearances at the worlds to lead the middleweight category with 2700 points. He is followed by Emilio Correa (2500) of Cuba, who had beaten the Indian at the Olympics but didn’t participate in the World Championship. Atoev (2100) is third collecting 1200 points for his gold medal.

Among other Indian boxers, Dinesh Kumar retained the sixth spot in the light heavyweight category thanks to his quarterfinal appearance in Milan. Thokchom Nanao Singh slipped three places to eighth in the light flyweight section. Akhil Kumar dropped a rung to 10th in the featherweight category while Jitender Kumar dropped to 14th in bantamweight category.