Abhinav Bindra's 2008 Olympics gold medal is India's greatest sporting achievement: Vijender Singh

Indian boxer Vijender Singh weighed in on the debate of India’s greatest sporting moment, terming Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the premier moment in India’s illustrious history.

So far, Abhinav Bindra remains the only Indian to have won an individual gold medal at the Olympics. And, Vijender Singh, in an exclusive Instagram Live session with Sportskeeda, emphasized on why that particular achievement stands out in comparison to other accolades.

“I reckon when Abhinav Bindra got first individual gold medal for India at 2008 Olympics. If you ask anyone, they will quickly go back to 1983 World Cup. Winning an individual gold medal is not a small thing. So in my book, that is the biggest sporting achievement of India,” Vijender Singh said.

Apart from that, Vijender Singh also talked about how Major Dhyan Chand is India’s greatest ever sportsperson, considering all that the hockey maestro achieved. Also, the boxer said that he hoped that Major Dhyan Chand would receive the coveted Bharat Ratna award.

“Major Dhyan Chand is India’s greatest sporting hero. I think he deserves Bharat Ratna and I hope that he gets it. He sacrificed a lot of things and I regularly read up about his career,” Vijender Singh told Sportskeeda.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was slated to take place this summer. However, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to a postponement of the global event and it is now set to happen in 2021.

Vijender Singh confident about Indian boxers' performance at Olympics

Amit Panghal is being talked about as a medal prospect at the Olympics (Credits: Scroll)

When quizzed about India’s boxing medal prospects at the Olympics in 2021, Vijender Singh mentioned that he had confidence in each of the 10 boxers that had qualified, although he singled out Amit Panghal, Manish Kaushik and Simranjit Kaur as potential medal winners.

“I don’t know. Those who would have worked hard and would have a bit of luck would do well. I bet on all 10 to do well. Amit Panghal, Manish Kaushik and Simranjit Kaur can do well in the Olympics,” Vijender Singh elaborated.

However, Vijender Singh remained tight-lipped on whether he still harbored aspirations of competing in the Olympics and adding another medal to the bronze medal he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“I don’t know, to be honest. Let the dates for the Olympics get decided first and then we will see,” Vijender Singh commented.