The Indian boxing champion, Vijendra Singh blows his birthday candles on October 29. He is the first Indian boxer to have ever won a medal at the Olympics. Singh trained himself under the guidance of well-known Indian Boxer Jagdish Singh and bagged the first-ever Olympic medal (bronze) in boxing at the Beijing Olympic Games of 2008.
Singh is a product of the now famous Bhiwani Boxing Club located in Bhiwani and is one of the most celebrated members of the club. He came into the limelight after performing commendably at the junior level and his senior career took off quite early when he won a gold medal at the Afro-Asian Games.
Later on Singh won medals at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne and followed it up with the finest achievement of his career when he won the bronze medal in the middleweight category at the Beijing Olympics. In June 2015, Vijender Singh turned professional thereby ending his amateur career as he signed a multi-year agreement with Queensberry Promotions.
Lesser-known facts about Vijendra Singh:
- Vijender gained the title of WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion in 2016, June.
- He actively participated in the Commonwealth Games of the year 2006, 2010 and 2014 and earned two silver and bronze in distinct categories.
- In 2010, he dominated the Asian Games in boxing by winning a gold medal in the middleweight category.
- Vijender also secured silver and a bronze medal in the Asian championship of 2007 and 2009 at the middleweight category.
- He gave an eye-catching performance in the World Championship of 2009 which was held in Milanand secured a bronze medal for the country.
- After the historic success in the Olympics, Vijender received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
