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S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 27 (PTI) Overwhelmed and exhausted in equal measure, India''s chief boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has told his wards to stay away from the ring and him for at least the next one month after notching up two unprecedented golds in a haul of seven medals at the Asian Games here. Vijender Singh (75kg) and Vikas Krishan (60kg) clinched India''s first boxing golds at the Asiad after 1998.
Dinesh Kumar (81kg), V Santhosh Kumar (64kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) fetched silver while Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) settled for bronze medals here. "I have told the boxers not to keep in touch with me and talk boxing for one month.
It''s a complete break for them before they start preparing for the London Olympics through the qualifying rounds which commence with the World Championships sometime in September next year," Sandhu said. Sandhu revealed that Vijender fought with a dislocated thumb in his final bout against Uzbekistan''s two-time world champion Abbos Atoev.
"It was a superb performance, the best ever in Asian Games in boxing in which we finished first along with China in the men''s competition. Vijender dislocated his thumb in the first round against the world champion (Uzbekistsan''s Abbos Atoev) and fought a great tactical fight to win the gold," said Sandhu today.
"The procedures are different here as they do complete investigations and then attend to the patient. But it was taken up as a special case.
The thumb has been dislocated at the base and his hand is in plaster. But I don''t think it will cause any problem as he can use the right hand," said Sandhu.
Sandhu said Vijender used the right straight and the right uppercuts to good use in his fight against Atoev, to whom he had lost in the Milan World Championship last year after winning at the Asian championship in China. "Vijender used the straight right and the right upper cuts very well and the opponent played into our hands by staying defensive in the first and second rounds," Sandhu said after the end of the team''s campaign at Fosham Gymnasium.
Sandhu said the entire boxing squad, which has trained tirelessly for several months now, would be given a complete break of one month before preparations for the Olympic qualifiers will start. "It has been a superb performance by the squad.
We were first in the Asian championships, first in the CWG, won four medals in the World Cups and also a first-ever medal (bronze for Vijender) in the World Championship and here we are joint first with China. What more can be asked for?" he said.
PTI SSR PM.
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