New Delhi: Former Commonwealth Gold medallist boxer Manoj Kumar, who dominated the light welterweight (64kg) category in India during his prime announced his retirement on Thursday, January 30 to start a career in coaching. Manoj did not hesitate to voice his disagreements with the national federation’s policies. He won his first and only Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medal in the 2010 Delhi Games. He is also a two-time bronze-medallist in the Asian Championships. His last CWG medal came in the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
Manoj is also a two-time Olympian, having participated in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. He finished in the pre-quarterfinals in both editions after a brilliant performance but fell just short of the medal on both occasions.
He started his boxing career in 1997 and completed his coaching diploma from Patiala’s National Institute of Sports in 2021. His India career was hampered by injuries and a dispute with the national federation on selection issues. After the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Manoj was not seen in any international event. He now wants to dedicate his time to the academy which he has set up with his brother and personal coach Rajesh Kumar in Kurukshetra.
Manoj also fought a court case to get the Arjuna Award in 2014. He was ignored by the Kapil Dev-led selection panel despite the fact that he fulfilled the criteria as per the points system established for the honour. He won that battle in the Delhi High Court and was honoured with the award after a few months of the traditional ceremony.
He is the only Indian boxer apart from Vijender Singh, who has won two CWG medals. Manoj was selected as the athletes’ representative in the Boxing Federation of India’s executive committee in 2016 but decided to quit after disagreements with the body on its ever-changing selection policy.
‘It’s a carefully thought out decision’: Manoj Kumar
Manoj Kumar talked about his retirement with PTI and said that it’s a carefully thought-out decision because once he turns 40, he cannot compete in amateur events as per international rules.
“I am retiring as a content man after representing my country to the best of my ability. I have just gratitude for the opportunities I got” Manoj told PTI.
“For any athlete, saying goodbye to the sport is an extremely emotional moment. If it weren’t for Rajesh sir, I wouldn’t have been recognised as an Olympian boxer. He made me dream big and cleared every obstacle in my path to achieve them” he added.
Manoj won the gold medal at the 2010 Delhi Games and a bronze at the 2018 Gold Coast Games. He is also a two-time Asian Championships bronze medallist and participated in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
