A trailblazer inside the boxing ring, Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh says he will draw inspiration from Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in his political innings which start with the Congress in the ongoing general elections.
The 33-year-old from the cradle of Indian boxing -- Bhiwani in Haryana -- was on Monday nominated from the South Delhi constituency by the Grand Old Party locking him in a three-way fight with BJP's sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha.
Speaking to PTI on Tuesday, India's only male boxer with an Olympic medal and the first to claim a world championship medal sounded upbeat as he spoke about a decision which not many saw coming.
"I want to be India's Manny Pacquaio. It would be great if I can be as good as him because I am not giving up boxing. That's my first love, will always be. That's my identity and I am not going to give it up," said Vijender as he headed to file his nomination.
The last active sportsperson to fight an election in India was legendary cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who lost from Gurgaon back in 1971 while competing for a regional party.
The man Vijender is looking up to is, however, another story.
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Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing. He is also the first to win major world titles in four out of eight weight classes -- flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.
The 40-year-old was elected to Philippines' House of Representatives, from the province of Sarangani, in 2010. He was re-elected in 2013 before winning the election to his country's Senate in June 2016. His term is till 2022.
All this while he remains an active boxer and defended his WBA welterweight title in January this year against American Adrien Broner.
Vijender said his path is not going to be too different if he goes on to win on debut.
"Even if I make it to Parliament, I will identify myself as boxer Vijender Singh and will continue to juggle my responsibilities," he said.
Vijender's boxing career has been a stellar one, comprising a gold medal in the Asian Games, three medals at the Commonwealth Games, and multiple Asian Championship medals. He turned professional in 2015 and has been unbeaten so far.
He recently signed up with the legendary Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions and is expected to make his debut on the American soil in the next few months.
Does he have a plan to manage two diverse careers in different continents on top of it?
Asked why he opted for the Congress, a party which did not win a single seat in Delhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vijender said, "I relate to the ideology and the leadership."
"As is propagated by our leadership, I want to be a friend of the electorate. I don't wish to be the neta that visits once in five years. I am not going to do rallies or road shows. I am going to connect with the voters spontaneously."
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