Devendro Singh stated that rejections never bothered him.
Flyweight boxer L Devendro Singh is the sole boxer among the 17 Arjuna awardees finalised this year. Singh, who was a part of the Ulaanbaatar Cup squad, was also nominated in 2015 and 2016 but failed to make it to the final list. Recalling the period Singh said, “I have been unlucky but who isn’t in this world at some point?”.
Stating that the rejections never bothered him too much, Devendro said, “I don’t believe in blaming or sulking. It’s not healthy for an athlete. Being a sportsperson means giving your best and taking pride in it, instead of withdrawing yourself after a setback,” and added, “I am an optimist, it’s fine if I didn’t get it the previous years, I got it this year. I would like to savour that. I live in the present and it won’t change for anything,” he added.
Speaking to the PTI on the various losses of his career, Devendro said, “I won’t say that a loss doesn’t hurt, it always does but can you really achieve anything by brooding too much? You have to move on and find new targets, which I always do. It also helps that I have a short memory, I tend to forget after a while,” and added, “Once you have taken up a sport like boxing at the age of 11, you have to be prepared for some blows here and there.”
Devendro also revealed that he has a habit of writing a daily diary. “We were told to write a diary by senior officers and eventually it became a habit. I used to write about my training, insecurities and several other things. I actually have four diaries filled up but I stopped in 2013 because of lack of time. I haven’t thrown away the ones I filled. I read them when I go home to laugh at myself. They are good for stress-management sometimes,” he said.
Earlier Devendro lost in the Asian Championships which shattered his hopes of competing in the World Championships. However, he believes that on the day his opponent was the better one among the two. “The guy who beat me in the trials was better on the day so I have no complaints. All of us in the camp are equals. I gave my best and that’s what gives me satisfaction. That, however, does not mean that I don’t have ambition. I am targeting the Commonwealth and Asian Games next year. You can’t have ambition if you allow some disappointments to hamper you,” he said and concluded by saying, “Those who don’t believe are not exactly living. I like to believe that I am living.”
