Vijender Singh, Manjor Kumar raise funds for Dingko Singh’s cancer treatment (Express Photo)

Dingko Singh, who is battling liver cancer, received support from fellow boxers Vijender Singh and Manoj Kumar, who have come together to raise funds for Asian Games gold-winning former pugilist. Dingko will be flown to Delhi on April 25 for radiation therapy.

Coming together for the cause on a whatsapp group, Vijender and Manoj, among other boxers and coaches, managed to raise over Rs 1 lakh which has been transferred to Dingko’s account directly.

Vijender was quoted by PTI as saying, “We have a whatsapp group, ‘hum mein hai dum’, Manoj posted about Dingko on it. We got his bank details and all of us have been chipping in with whatever we can manage.

The contributions are reportedly still coming in. “We have raised over Rs 1 lakh, the money is continuing to go to his account. I put in Rs 25,000, likewise, everyone else has been giving what they can. Somebody gave 11,000, some other put in Rs 5,000,” Vijender said. “Dingko is a hero, an icon for us. We had to come forward because every boxer deserves that his community comes to his aid at the hour of need.”

The 41-year-old, who is currently in Imphal, was due to undergo radiation therapy a fortnight back but could not come to Delhi because of the lockdown.

Dingko first burst into the limelight in 1997, when he triumphed at the King’s Cup in Bangkok. A year later he clinched a gold medal at the Asian Games in Bangkok in the 54-kg bantamweight category. The same year he was awarded the Arjuna Award and in 2013 he received the Padma Shri. Formerly with the Navy, Singh is credited with inspiring a whole generation of boxers.