Latest revision as of 20:51, 19 July 2021

[edit] A brief biography

Tridib Baparnash, Satish: Army helped me become a boxer, April 21, 2020: The Times of India

A deep cut in the eyebrow narrowly robbed boxer Satish Kumar of a chance to represent India at the Rio Olympics in 2016. But the disappointment only fuelled the fire in his belly over the next four years until last month when the Uttar Pradesh pugilist returned home with a quota for the Tokyo Games, now defered by a year following the coronavirus pandemic.

What makes Satish’s quota even more special is that he is the first ever Indian to book an Olympic berth in the +91 kilogram super heavyweight category. Despite the feat, the boxer remains grounded with a simple one liner, “That qualifier was just a trailer, the real picture will be at the podium.”

The 29-year-old qualified for his maiden Olympics by making the semifinals of the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan earlier this year. “This would be my first Olympic Games, and becoming the first Indian super heavyweight to qualify for an Olympics is something special, but there is a lot of work now,” he told TOI.

Forced to train indoor at his native village in UP’s Bulandshahar, Satish said the Boxing Federation of India and the Sports Authority of India had held discussions over providing some basic training equipments to the pugilists, and the proposal is awaiting approval.

With the national lockdown period extended to May 3, Satish said indoor training and working in the fields keep him engaged but he is ready to serve the country as an armyman if the need arises.

The soft-spoken boxer from Bulandshahar has been India’s premier boxer in the +91 category for many years now. He had cornered a bronze medal in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and followed it with another bronze medal effort at the Asian Boxing Championship in Bangkok the next year. Satish also expressed his gratitude to one of his seniors Khemanand Belwal, who not only inspired him to take up the sport but also was instrumental in pushing him to compete in the various competitions. “At the Kumaon (regiment), there are very few heavyweight boxers and it was my size that convinced my coach and seniors to throw my name into the mix. Had it not been the army, I wouldn’t have been a boxer today,” he said.

At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, he bagged a silver before capping off the year with a gold at the 3rd men’s nationals in Pune. Last year, he took a silver at the Makran Cup in Iran before grabbing the Olympic berth in Jordan. “The last two years have by far been the best of my career.”

[edit] 2021

July:

Satish Kumar, India’s first +91kg super heavyweight entrant in the Olympic Games.