India’s middleweight boxer Ashish Kumar might not have a favorite tag, but he doesn’t let that get to him. Currently attending the Olympic preparatory camp in Assisi, Italy, he is content being away from public attention.
Ashish said:
“Being away from the spotlight works for me. It gives me enough room to work on my strength and stay focused.”
The 26-year old boxer from Himachal Pradesh will make his Olympic debut in the men’s 75kg. In 2008, India’s Vijender Singh won bronze in the same category.
Ashish is one of nine Indian boxers who made the Olympic cut. He qualified at the Asian/Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament in Amman, Jordan in March 2020.
Away from the limelight, Ashish is silently working on his strength to make an impact on his debut.
He said:
“Our Olympic preparation has entered the home stretch. Since my preliminary round match starts on July 27, the main focus is to stay healthy, maintain weight and peak at the right time.”
Besides maintaining his own fitness, the Indian boxer keeps an eye on his opponents. He added:
“We have to study the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents and work out strategies to gain the upper hand in the competition.”
According to Ashish, middleweight is the toughest of all the weight categories. He said:
“If a boxer doesn’t have a good combination of speed and strength, it will be a challenging task to survive in the first round of the major competition.”
In the buildup to the Olympics, Ashish faced an uphill task. In March, his training was disrupted as he tested positive for COVID-19 during an international competition in Spain.
According to Ashish, he had a mild fever for a day before his semifinal bout, but it sent him to a seven-day quarantine in Spain.
“Locked within the four walls of the room for a week in Spain was sort of a psychological battle for me. I recovered faster than expected,” he revealed.
Back home from Spain, Ashish had to undergo another week in isolation before he could join the national camp in Patiala.
That is the past. Ashish is optimistic about a good show in Japan.
He said:
“I’m ready to face tough opponents from European nations, including Russia.”
The Indian team, currently in Italy, will fly directly to Tokyo on July 17.
Amit Panghal (52 kg), Manish Kaushik (63 kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Satish Kumar (91 kg) are the other four male boxers who will compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The 2012 bronze medalist Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg) and Pooja Rani (75 kg) have qualified in the women’s category.
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