Enlightened Vikas ready to turn on the style in the ring

CHENNAI: For most athletes, sports have taken a backseat during the ongoing lockdown. For boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav, this sudden period of lull has been his awakening. “This is unprecedented, something that our parents and grandparents have also not witnessed. So this has made me appreciate life, value things that are actually important like family and friends. So, I’m thankful that it has been an eye-opener for me,” Vikas says. “I have been able to spend quality time with my parents and my kids. My grandfather is 93 and it has been really motivating, listening to his life story.”

Vikas is concerned for those who have had to bear the side effects of the lockdown. “It has been an inconvenience for all. But I’m fortunate enough to have a house and all that I need. So, it has been less of a disruption for me. I am just concerned for the less fortunate,” the Haryana ace remarks. Just before the shutdown, the former World Championships bronze medallist had ensured himself an Olympic berth with a silver medal effort during the Asia/Oceania boxing qualifiers in Amman in March. Having returned from professional boxing not long ago, his transition back to the amateur circuit has been a smooth one.

“I had trained relentlessly for seven months or so. That performance (during qualifiers) was expected. But I still feel the I was lacking somewhere. I should have beaten my opponents with ease. I’ll work on my shortcomings and swat aside my rivals during the Olympics. I want to be a sureshot for gold,” the three-time Olympian, who recently began training at a farmhouse near Bhiwani, declares. Defence is one department where the 28-year-old feels needs refinement in order to turn on the style and live his golden dream next year. “I don’t want to rely on the orthodox style of defending with my guard up. Instead, I want to be more deceptive, work on feints and ducking. I want to show the people that boxing is an art.”

Someone who’s aided him in his quest to polish the art in recent times is Ronald Simms, head coach at Inspire Institute of Sports in Vijayanagar. Initially, the JSW-backed veteran had admittedly taken time to warm up to Simms’ methods. But after tasting success in qualifiers, Vikas has gained complete faith in the American. “He taught me plenty of new things. I was with him for three months before the national camp. It was hard training. He taught many aspects; one of them was if I’m on the backfoot, how I can recover. Another key lesson that he taught me was how to avoid punches. All those came in handy during the qualifiers.”