LA Olympics 2028: Former boxer Vijender Singh expresses confidence in Sakshi Chaudhary

Sakshi Chaudhary

While India's boxers bagged seven gold medals at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, one of them stands out for 2009 World Championships bronze medal-winner Vijender Singh.

"Sakshi Chaudhary [51kg] was brilliant during her gold medal-winning performance in Glasgow. England's Ruby White [came in on an unbeaten streak of 68 wins] is a good boxer, but the way Sakshi stood her ground was impressive, winning by unanimous decision," Vijender tells mid-day.

Vijender knows Sakshi personally; she hails from the same Bhiwani Boxing Club that he came from.

"I know Sakshi's family very well. They live just two villages away from my village in Haryana. They are very poor. Her father had a job earlier, but he left it to focus on her boxing and I'm glad it's paying off. In fact, this is just the beginning. I have no doubt Sakshi will not just win the gold medal at the upcoming Asian Games, but also finish on the podium at the LA 2028 Olympics," added Vijender.

Interestingly, there are a lot of similarities between Sakshi and Vijender. Both are tall boxers and use their reach to their advantage. Also, both have very effective left jabs. The comparison is not lost on Vijender.

"Yes, there are similarities. She has good height and is an intelligent boxer. She's very energetic in the ring and has gained a lot of experience too, having excelled against seasoned campaigners like Minakshi [Hooda, reigning world champion] and Nikhat [Zarin, two-time world champion] during the selection trials for the Glasgow CWG. You need to have a big heart in boxing and she has that. She reminds me of me," Vijender signed off.

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