Vikas Krishan, one of the strong medal hopes in boxing at the London Olympics, loves success as anyone else but prefers to follow his own path. Whether springing surprises inside the ring or outwitting the curious media, armed with pointed queries, the 20-year-old Vikas finds himself at ease.
On the last stretch of his Olympic preparations, Vikas sounded confident about his abilities. “The more I saw the videos (of my opponents), the more confused I became. I thought all of them were good. So, I stopped watching the videos. Right now, I am focusing on my own strengths,” he said.
“I do not think I have any competition from anybody else. My competition is with myself. If I give my best, then I will win a medal.”
When rest of his fellow boxers went for a 15-day exposure trip to Ireland, Vikas, a world championship bronze medallist last year, preferred to stay back at home in Bhiwani and appear for his B.A. final year exams. “Since my basics (in studies) were strong, it was not such a difficult task. However, I did not compromise with my training.”
Acclimatisation
Vikas, who has the experience of boxing at the Olympics venue, said acclimatisation in the cold country would not be a big issue for him. Of his Olympics dream, Vikas, a former world youth champion and a 2010 Asian Games gold medallist, said, “Like Abhinav Bindra, I want to win the Olympics gold.”
Vikas did not allow the pressure of expectations to weigh him down at any point of time. “It is a motivation that people are expecting medals from us…I treat the Olympics like any other international event. That decreases the pressure on me.
“My natural game (of relying on counter-attack) has helped me win medals so far and I will stick to it.”
Has he taken any tips from Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh? “There is no need to take any tips, because I am mentally prepared for the Olympics,” said Vikas.
Fitness
Vikas said that he had increased his strength in order to meet the demands of fighting in the 69kg category. With just a few weeks to go for the Games to begin, he said the main challenge would be to maintain his fitness. “I have rectified my technical problems in the last seven months and become better.”
Vikas represents the young brigade of the Indian squad which has teenagers such as Shiva Thapa, L. Devendro Singh and Sumit Sangwan — and he is proud of his fellow teammates.
“We are a confident lot and we have the self-belief to do well (in the Olympics),” he said.
