Khel Ratna recipient Vijender Singh received a major boost ahead of the World Boxing Championship in Milan when he was placed second in the 75kg category in the first-ever world rankings announced by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on Thursday.
The Beijing Olympic bronze medallist was already targeting No.1 spot when DNA contacted him. “My eyes are set on the No.1 spot,” said Vijender from Patiala. “Any award I receive works as a motivation for me and this news will definitely help me achieve my targets in Milan.” The other Indians to break into top-10 were Nanao Singh (48kg), Akhil Kumar (57kg) and Dinesh Kumar (81kg).
Meanwhile, there was confusion over whether Vijender will travel to world championship (September 1-12) with rest of the team, which leaves on August 27 or wait for the President’s Sports Award Ceremony on August 29 when Vijender is to receive the Khel Ratna Award. Vijender himself believes he should be in Milan. “I would prefer to be in Milan, which will give me more time to acclimatise. I’m waiting for a word from the federation, whether to stay back or not.”
Indian Amateur Boxing Federation secretary Muralidharan Raja confirmed that the federation also doesn’t want him to stay back. “We are only waiting for the confirmation from the sports ministry that Vijender will receive the award at the hands of President Pratibha Patil once he is back from Milan. We hope to receive a word from them tomorrow (on Friday),” said Raja.
