Indian boxers turned out a fabulous performance on the final day of the fifth Commonwealth Boxing and clinched six gold medals.

By Garima Verma

As boxing great Evander Holyfield once said: A champion shows who he is by what he does when he's tested. When a person gets up and says 'I can still do it', he's a champion.

And, Vijender Singh proved that he belonged in that group of champions who hold millions at their sway when he fought through a bleeding nose to cap a wonderful day for India by winning the gold in his middle weight (75kg) category. He beat England’s Frank Buglioni 13-3 to win a gold medal after a span of two years (after Chemistry Cup in 2008).

After Dinesh Kumar, Paramjeet Samota, Suranjoy Singh, Amandeep and Jai Bhagwan won gold in their respective categories, Vijender provided a perfect finish by clinching the sixth one for India. The hosts also took home the team title. 

Despite having suffered an injury to his nose in the first round itself, Vijender didn’t let his supporters down and kept his challenge going till the end to not only win the title but also clinch the best boxer trophy. Vijender was leading by 1-0 when Buglioni’s punch landed on his nose and the Indian started bleeding profusely. But, Vijender came back stronger and secured a 3-1 lead by the end of the first round.

Egged on by the supporters, Vijender further enhanced his lead in the second round and displayed a good combination of defence and counter-attack to enter the decider with a 7-2 lead. In the final round, he proved his supremacy by securing as much as six points in his favour and conceded just one to put the lid on the encounter 13-3.

The signs of the things to come were quite apparent when Dinesh Kumar clinched the first gold for India without even having to deal a single punch. He was given a walkover against Scotland’s Callum Johnson in the light-heavy weight category (81kg). Johnson had injured his right hand’s wrist.

The first Indian to take the ring was Paramjeet Samota in the super heavy weight (+91kg) category against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker. Samota almost gave the Indian spectators, who had turned up in huge numbers to cheer for the Indian boxers, a scare when he conceded a 1-0 lead to Parker in the first round. But Samota made an impressive comeback in the following round and dealt a combination of blows to enter the deciding round with a 4-3 lead. The final round proved to be a mere formality as Samota took three points at a stretch to seal the tie 7-3 in his favour to win the gold in his first major senior tournament.

For Amandeep, it proved to be a walk in the park as he easily outdid Kenya’s Peter Mungai in the light-fly (49 kg) final. Though he turned out a seemingly low score of 3-0, Amandeep was in total control throughout the bout and hardly had to break a sweat to come out triumphant. Amandeep took a 2-0 lead in the fist round and rode on it through the second one and secured just another one in the third to give India their gold of the day.

If Samota and Amandeep set the momentum, Suranjoy Singh upped the ante as the pea-sized boxer’s one punch was more than enough to send Mauritius’ Oliver Lavigi packing. Suranjoy had just started treating Lavigi to his flurry of punches and taken a 1-0 lead when referee stopped contest as Lavigi was outclassed and the stands erupted with joy. This was Suranjoy’s sixth gold in various tournaments since last year.

Jai Bhagwan’s contest proved to a more evenly-matched contest as Bahamas’ Valention Knowles gave him a tough time in the first two rounds of their light weight (60kg) category. Both were tied 1-1 and 2-2 at the end of the first and second round respectively. But, Jai turned the tables on his opponent and earned four points to win his bout 6-2 and fourth gold medal for the hosts.

Meanwhile, Engalnd’s Ian Weaver who had stunned India’s Akhil Kumar in his opening bout and then Olympic bronze-winner Bruno Julie in the next, outpunched Sri Lanka’s M Wanniarachchi to take home the bantam weight (56kg) title. Weaver was also adjudged the most promising boxer of the event.

Results, finals: 56 Kg: Ian Weaver (Eng) bt M Wanniarachchi (Sri) 7-1. 64 Kg: Scott Cardale (Eng) got walkover from Chirs Jenkins (Wales). 69 Kg: Fred Evans (Wal) bt Moabi Mothiba (Bot) 5-2. 91 Kg: Simon Wallily (Eng) bt Elly Ajowi (Ken) RSC. +91 Kg: Paramjeet Samota (Ind) bt Joseph Parker (Nzl) 7-3. 49 Kg: Amandeep (Ind) bt Peter Mungai (Ken) 3-0. 52 Kg: Suranjoy Singh (Ind) bt Oliver Lavigi (Mri) 1-0 RSCOC. 60Kg: Jai Bhagwan (Ind) bt Valention Knowles (Bah) 6-2. 75 Kg: Vijender Singh (Ind) bt Frank Buglioni (Eng) 13-3. 81 Kg: Dinesh Kumar (Ind) got walkover from Callum Johnson (Eng).