Comeback-man Vikas Krishan adjudged best boxer award at Strandja

It was double delight for Indian boxer Vikas Krishan at the Strandja Memorial Tournament here as he didnt just claim a gold medal but was also adjudged the best boxer of the event in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia a first for an Indian The 26yearold defeated world championships bronzemedallist Troy Isley of the USA in the middleweight 75kg finals to claim his first medal since the Asian Championships bronze last year in AprilMayIt was a massive turnaround for Vikas who had not just been laid low by a hand injury but had also found himself in the disciplinary line of fire after giving a walkover in his Asian Championships semifinal last year It is a big comeback for me and I feel I am a much stronger boxer now Maintaining my weight at an optimum level which used to be a problem earlier is no longer an issue for me I have also improved my technique and endurance Vikas told PTIThe hand injury was also bothering me for a quite a while but I have got a grip on that too So things are looking bright I used to sometimes deflate after the first round but thats no longer the case I am in a good space added the boxer who is currently training with former teammate Jay Patil Along with Vikas Amit Panghal 49kg claimed a gold medal rounding off Indias best ever performance at the tournament The country ended with a whopping 11 medals five from men and six from women boxers In all the contingent clinched two gold three silver and six bronze medalsI beat some good opponents in the runup to the final and that is a massive boost for my confidence said Vikas The former Asian Games gold medal winner who is also a world championships bronzemedallist said he also cleared some mental cobwebs to get back in form I read a quote by a chess player a few days back in which he said I started winning after I realised that even my opponent is as scared of losing as I am I liked it in fact it helped me in understanding that its no big deal to be anxious before a fight he saidNow if my rival is as anxious as I am I can certainly capitalise on that which I did in this tournament he added Finishing with silver medals were M C Mary Kom 48kg who got a raw deal in the final Seema Poonia 81kg and Gaurav Solanki 52kg The bronze medal winners among the women were Meena Kumari Devi 54kg L Sarita Devi 60kg Saweety Boora 75kg and Bhagyabati Kachari 81kg Among the men last editions silvermedallist Mohammed Hussamuddin 56kg and former Asian Games bronzemedallist Satish Kumar 91kg ended in third positionCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go