Vijender Singh is a mix of rustic charm and booming confidence and when he raised his voice a notch and said — “Don't worry I will get the gold at the Commonwealth Games”, the packed hall broke into spontaneous applause.
The World's top-ranked boxer in the middle-weight category, was in town to launch the Nike destination store on Brigade Road here on Saturday.
Vijender also exhorted schools to promote boxing and said: “It is not a dangerous sport as it is perceived. It is a sport that requires intelligence, strength, speed and skill.” Vijender was accompanied by cricketers Virat Kohli, S. Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha.
The quartet spoke about their passion for sport. “You have to just do it on the ground. Go for everything. Cricket is all I have in life and this is my passion,” said Kohli. “Ups and downs are part of sport and when the Indian team was selected for the ICC World Twenty20, I had just played five games in the IPL and did not have many chances,” he added.
Sreesanth, who has had a roller coaster ride, spoke about ‘there being no finish line' for people like him. “I am always geared up towards making a comeback. I haven't done that well in Twenty20 but I am working hard,” the seamer said, while Pragyan Ojha, who was the highest wicket-taker in the latest IPL with 21 scalps, said that it was an honour to do well in a competition that also features his seniors — Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
“Flighting the ball is one of my strengths from childhood and I enjoyed bowling in the IPL,” said Ojha.
