It is that time of year when the reality of our lives meets the promises of our New Year resolutions. This is the time when one starts to question their ability and desire to make a change.
In this context, we take a look at how Vijender Singh shifted gears from a decorated amateur boxing career that had started to show diminishing returns, to a successful professional career that has seen him become the WBO Asia Pacific Super middleweight champion.
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The Indian boxer had seen the highs of huge public acclaim after an Olympic medal in 2008 and had to fight through an alleged drug charge (Vijender was subsequently cleared of all charges).
In a distinguished amateur career, Singh medalled at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Boxing Championships. However, by June 2015, his performances in the big events were heading south and the inefficiencies of the Indian sporting system and a banned Indian Boxing Federation were taking their toll.
Change is not easy, just like our New Year resolutions. Vijender managed to turn around his fortunes after turning professional in 2015. Here are some life lessons from the career transformation of one of India's top boxers.
Lesson #1 – Pick the right team and coach
Vijender Singh and his management team picked well-known promoters and an experienced coach in Lee Beard. Beard had worked with top contenders like Ricky Hatton and hence knew what it takes to get boxers to succeed at the highest level.
Team Vijender also had the foresight to create a structured long term plan with the right mix of opponents and practise to ease the boxer into the world of professional boxing.
Lesson #2 – Move out of your Comfort Zone
Picking Lee Beard as the coach also meant moving to his gym in the UK. Vijender is a celebrity in India with multiple modelling assignments and a movie to boot. In hindsight, it seems like a master move to take the Indian boxer out of his comfort zone so that he could focus totally on his boxing. Away from the flashlights and the media scrutiny, Vijender set out for a cold and chilly Manchester.
Well-meaning friends may have suggested to settle in India, but the boxer followed the logical course of his decision and today the hard miles run in cold temperatures have started yielding results.
Lesson #3 – Work exceedingly hard
Change is not easy. Moving from the amateur boxer scene, with protective gear and three round bouts, Vijender had to gear himself to last a 10 round bout. Vijender spent 10 hours a day slogging away in a cold damp country with a set of British coaches. He has had to often fight several sparring partners over 10-15 rounds a day, making his training tougher than the bouts.
It could have been easy to rest on the laurels of an amateur career that had seen Vijender rise to the #1 ranking but Vijender took the jump with a willingness to learn as well as a willingness to unlearn.
Lesson #4 - Stick to your strengths and improve on them
The move to London meant fewer events, reality or dance shows to attend; the Indian boxer was back to do what had brought him fame. Vijender has added the ability to hit body blows and has strengthened his defence apart from his existing strength, which were his jabs. The 31-year-old also learnt to economise his movement around the ring for the longer 10 round bouts, and harness his abundant skills even as he added new strings to the bow.
The Mantra – "Take Qualified Risks and stick with them to reap the returns”
And this story reiterates the universal truth – “Take qualified risks and reap the results”. Vijender turned back on Olympic Boxing a year from Rio 2016. He also had to endure a legal challenge which led to his initial professional bout getting postponed.
The Haryana man set out on his path with a long term plan and had bet his boxing future on the same. Today, Vijender is a trailblazer for India, so much so that fellow national boxers like Akhil Kumar and Jitendra Singh are following suit by turning professional.
The future is bright for Vijender, even as he prepares to contest for world titles. The lessons from his journey serve as inspiration as each one of us sets out on our individual quests.
