An alumni of BBC (Bhiwani Boxing Club), Haryana Vijender fought bravely but just like Beijing Olympic, he had to compromise with the Bronze Medal and by doing so he became only the first Indian to have won any medal at the WBC. Playing against Abos Atoev of Uzbekistan, Haryana pugilist led the first round by 1-0 but couldn’t maintain the lead and was defeated 7-3.  

Vijender had his own strategy but it was not good enough to combat Uzbek Abos Atoev who completely dominated the second round and gave no leeway to the Bhiwani Boxer. The second round of the bout was crucial and Vijender had to settle for 1-5, which proved decisive till the end of the bought  Although the Beijing Bronze medalist displayed superb skills but he had no match to Abos Atoev’s swift and sharp footwork combined with strong punches.                   

When asked to comment on his semifinal bout tall and smart Vijender said, “As a boxer I tried my level best but Uzbek boxer Abos Atoev performed brilliantly today.”       

Indian coach Gurbax Singh admitted that yes it was Uzbek’s day and he was stronger and skilled in comparison to Vijender. He said, “Both the boxers played brilliantly but and Uzbek was more aggressive in the second round. But it was the strong punches of the Uzbek’s boxer that took the game away from the Indian boxer.