Rio Olympics 2016: Road to the Olympics for Manoj Kumar

Light welterweight boxer Manoj Kumar qualified for the Rio Olympic Games when he won his quarterfinal bout 3-0 against Tajikistan’s Rakhimov Shakvakatdzhon in the AIBA World Olympic qualification event held in Baku, Azerbaijan in the month of June 2016. The boxer will be representing India as its most experienced pugilist at the Rio Games.

But the road to Rio has not been easy for the 29-year-old. Kumar started his boxing career at the age of just 18 after his elder brother had decided to bring him into the sport. His brother was also a boxer and had been overlooked for selection in the national team even after winning gold in the University Championships. Therefore, it was the younger brother who finally represented the nation at a major event.

Manoj became the national champion for the first time when he beat defending champion Som Bahadur Pun in 2008 at the age of 22. The boxer did not look back ever since, winning the gold medals at events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, the 2015 Doha International Tournament and the 2016 South Asian Games. But the pugilist, who hails from the village of Rajound in Haryana, has not stamped his authority in the 64kg category.

Manoj’s career had reached a high at the 2010 Commonwealth Games after he won the gold medal but a decline in his level of performances was seen from there on. The boxer had to wait five years to finally get another gold medal when he won in Doha in 2015. But these five years were full of disappointment and controversy for the experienced Indian. He had participated at the London Olympics where according to the boxer, he was a victim of biased refereeing in the quarter-final match against Tom Stalker of Great Britain.

But the disappointment did not end there, the boxer was subject to controversy when he was dubiously awarded the Arjuna Award in the year 2014 which also made the headlines. This was preceded by his 3-0 loss to Samuel Maxwell of Great Britain in the quarter-final of the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow. But such is the determination of Kumar that he has made a strong comeback to position himself at number six in the AIBA rankings for the 64kgs category.

Kumar’s performance in both 2015 and the current year have been outstanding and have helped him in preparing for the Games. Ever since the dubious loss at London 2012, the pugilist has always viewed winning the gold medal at Rio as the sole ambition. The boxer has done well to get to the Olympics without any support from organisations like Olympic Gold Quest. But Manoj will look to eclipse his failure in London by bringing a medal home from Brazil in the light welterweight category.

The boxer will be facing stiff competition from the likes of Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk, Russia’s Vitaly Dunaytsev,and Cuba’s Yasniel Toledo when he goes for gold in Rio. He will also be accompanied by two young pugilists in the form of Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan Yadav. But considering Kumar’s experience and motivation to win, he will be India’s biggest darkhorse in boxing.