Bhiwani: “Akhil is an aggressive player and believes in attacking his opponent. We are sure he will win this bout and create history,” was the refrain at the Bhiwani Boxing Club (BBC) ever since Akhil Kumar entered the quarterfinals of the men’s 54kg bantamweight category at the Beijing Olympics.

But on Monday, as the boxer who mesmerised the world with his impressive victory in the pre-quarters defeating current world champion Sergey Vodopyanov, crashed out at the hands of Moldova’s Veaceslav Gojan in the quarterfinals, a deafening silence blanketed the club. The presence of nearly 100 enthusiasts at the BBC could hardly be felt.

A moment later, Kamal Singh, president, BBC stood up and said that the “aggressive technique” of Akhil’s game went against him in the bout, though he called it a “matter of luck”.

Akhil’s coach Jagdish Singh agrees. “He (Akhil) should have gone on the defensive when he saw that Gojan was not attacking him. He probably got too excited and kept attacking but in the third round he couldn’t get any points. I hope Jitender and Vijender win their bouts,” Jagdish said.

In Rohtak, at Akhil’s residence, Monday began with a festival-like atmosphere with his family performing a havan praying for Akhil’s victory. But the defeat brought in shock.
Akhil’s family friend said, “his parents are devastated, they couldn’t see their son crashing out. They are not in a condition to talk.”

At the BBC, which has given the Indian Olympics contingent its three best boxers, all hopes are now pinned on their other star, Vijender Singh (75kg middle-weight category), who faces Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. A win would assure him of an Olympic medal, of whatever hue.

“Vijender is a very balanced player. He is equally good at playing defensive as he is in his aggressive style. All our hopes are now pinned on him. We hope to see the Olympic gold medal dangling from his neck when he returns,” said Kamal.

Akhil’s friend Hari Singh, also a boxer at the BBC, believes that Gojan had understood Akhil’s technique and thus began playing defensive. “Gojan judged Akhil in the first round itself. Unfortunately, Akhil could not see this and kept playing aggressive. But he gave the game his best shot and we are all very proud of him. He has been very dedicated to his game and am sure he would achieve a lot more,” said Hari.

During the monsoon, one has to wade through knee deep water to reach BBC, and all one finds there is a boxing ring and a few punching bags hanging from hooks fastened to a steel shed. So much for infrastructure of a club that has given the country many more award-winning boxers apart from Akhil, Vijender and Jitender.  However, Kamal believes that with the media’s attention being drawn to the club, some improvements can be expected in the future.
Source : DNA