Usually, when you call up someone who has just suffered a shock defeat in his semi-final bout to an unfancied opponent, you find them reticent about their future plans. With Vijender Singh, however, you get to hear a voice that is tired but brimming with enthusiasm, almost too eager to get back into the ring.He may just be 22, but Vijender is already a veteran in the boxing world. He is also a study in contrast — though a believer in fate and destiny, he still holds that a positive attitude can get him anywhere; he has soft hands, but they can be unforgiving inside the ring.A Commonwealth Games silver medal and an Asian Games bronze may be the highs for him in the four years since he debuted on the grandest stage — the 2004 Olympics — but he still feels his dreams are incomplete. “Pehli baar bas pata chala tha ki Olympics kya hota hai (The first time I just about got to know what the Olympics really mean),” he says about his Athens experience. Since then, it has been an unending cycle of practice, practice and more practice. So much so that he calls the NIS, Patiala, his second home. “I spend just a month-and-a-half at home in a year,” he says. The rest of the time, all he has for company are his dreams, tight training schedules, tournaments, coaches, and his iPod.Coming from Bhiwani in Haryana — considered the cradle for Indian boxers — it was always a given that he would get into the sport. But when he started, all he wanted was to represent India in a few international tournaments. “When a person grows up, his dreams also get bigger,” Soon after turning to boxing, Vijender started dreaming of the Olympics, and got his shot in 2004.But it came and went a little too quickly — he was knocked out in the first round — and now he has another opportunity at Beijing, this time with an outside chance at a medal. The four-year wait has been a long one for Vijender. “The experience of so many international tournaments has helped me know what to do and what not. I know that a favourable draw does matter, and there is an element of luck always involved. On a bad day, even the weakest of opponents can defeat you,” he says matter-of-factly.Despite frequent moments of despair, he is the most optimistic of the five boxers going to Beijing. He admits there were times he admits he used to cry alone at night, feeling he wasn’t good enough. “Especially after I couldn’t qualify at Chicago (the AIBA World Championships) and Bangkok (the 1st Asian qualifying tournament). So many people used to say that I wasn’t good enough, I won’t qualify. But every time I’m down, I talk to my mother, and she is the one who tells me to keep faith. The coaches and officials also keep telling me I’m good. Their belief helps me get back to giving my best,” he says. He says he also gets motivated every time he gets on the podium for a second or third-place award. “Bas ek kadam ka fasla hota hai. (I feel I am just one step away from gold, but that one step appears too big,” he says.Having recovered from a back injury early this year, fighting off lack of sponsors, lifting his spirits through rustic Punjabi songs, Vijender is all set to take it to the next level. “Us ek kadam ka faasla main zarur mitaunga (I will definitely take that last big step)” he signs off.
