But after Mandeep proved his mettle with a silver medal at the just-concluded Asian Championships, the 20-year-old was pleasantly surprised to find him at the airport to receive him.
"Previously he didn't even know where I was training, today he came to the airport to receive me," said the soft-spoken Hisar-lad, who bagged the 69kg silver medal at the Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan.
His opponent in the final and eventual gold-medallist, Kazakhstan's Daniyar Yeleussinov, was declared the event's best boxer.
"Boxing was never on my mind as a career. I just went to see a bout and there somebody taught me how to punch. I ended up coming late to home and when I told where I was, dad thrashed me and locked me in a room," he recalled.
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"Then we struck a deal. He said 'do what you feel like but get good marks' and I followed that. Then I went back to boxing, once again my mom complained to dad but this time he did not bash me.
"It took me one year to convince my parents but I succeeded.