Mandeep determined to make most of his chances

The son of a labourer from Sirsa,Mandeep was first drawn to boxing under an army program that saw him travel to Pune for a boys camp. That was where he first met Akhil Kumar,who would become his mentor. “If I have to thank anyone,it will be Akhil bhai. He has been more than just a mentor or even a brother. He has been like my mother and father. When I started boxing I had no money. My parents were more interested in putting food on the table than in funding my sports career. When I was training in Bhiwani,Akhil would send me Rs 1000 every month for my rent,” he recalls.

Mandeep says Akhil was not satisfied with how his training was progressing in Bhiwani and in 2007 asked him to come to Patiala. “He paid for my stay in a paying guest accommodation in Patiala. I wasn’t a member of the national camp so I played in the NIS as part of their pay and play scheme,” says Mandeep. The help didn’t stop there. “Akhil made sure I got a chance to train along with the rest of the boxers at the national camp. He was busy training for the Beijing Olympics but he would take out the time for me,” he says.

The informal stay at the national camp seemed to pay dividends as Mandeep was selected to the Indian squad for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Armenia,although there were hiccups even in that call up. “There were people who didn’t want me to go with the Indian team,but our coach Mahendra Singh Dhaka backed me fully,” he recalls. Even coach Jaidev Bisht marked him out as a talent to watch. Unfortunately,despite his coach’s support,he would lose to Richard Kuncaitis of Lithuania in a surprise decision. Despite doing all the punching,his opponent who had his guard up for the most part,was given the bout 2-1 under the then new scoring rules which favored defensive styles of boxing.

“Someone told me that the way the bout went was very similar to the one where Akhil Bhai lost in the quarterfinals of the Olympics. He too was doing all the punching,but his opponent was getting the points,” he says. The comparison to his idol lessened the pain of the loss feel somewhat. “I was shooting and moving so well in that match,” says Mandeep,who still considers the bout the finest of his short career.

But failure at the World Juniors meant that he was once again out of favour. Then came a tough couple of years. Finding it difficult to carve a niche in the ever more competitive Haryana setup,Mandeep shifted state in 2010 and moved to Delhi. Then things began to change. His father entered the real estate business and almost suddenly the once struggling family became well-to-do almost overnight,allowing Mandeep to resume his career with no worry of finances. Mandeep won gold in the Delhi state championships in his inaugural year. He would then represent the state in the National Games in Ranchi in 2011. His bronze there was upgraded to silver after 9-times national champion Dilbag Singh to whom he had lost 2-0 in the semi finals was suspended for a doping offence.

Mandeep also made it to the senior national camp for the first time and travelled to Serbia for the Belgrade Winner 2011 Championship. Although he was unsuccessful,his father sent him money to buy a video camera as well as the laptop through which he now prepares for his fights. And now,by making his debut in the Asian Boxing Championships,things appear to finally be looking up.

But Mandeep refuses to get carried away. “I have to accept that Vikas Krishan (Asian Games gold medalist) is the number one choice in my weight category. I am going to the Asian Championships as a replacement. But luck seems to be favouring me right now so I am going to do the best I can,” he says.