Vijender Singh may love the perks of success, but he also knows that he must keep winning to enjoy them
Success breeds confidence and often arrogance. At first, star pugilist Vijender Singh comes across as a bit arrogant, with his designer jeans, sunglasses and the swagger associated more with film stars than boxers. But scratch the surface and you see that he is just supremely confident of the abilities that have made him the world’s number one boxer and a sporting hero in modern India. If it was overconfidence bordering on arrogance that saw him exit the Delhi Commonwealth Games in the semi-finals, then it was quiet determination that won him gold in the Guangzhou Asiad.
Singh doesn’t wear his modest beginnings on his sleeve. Conservative India has frowned for long on flashy people, especially the new rich. But Singh suffers from no such hang-ups. He makes no bones about enjoying his celebrity status and the good life it brings with it. “Whoever says money is not important is lying,” he says. He has agreed to meet at the coffee shop of the five-star hotel in downtown New Delhi which he patronises whenever he’s here.
Born into a family of limited means, Singh did not don boxing gloves for money. His father worked as a bus driver, often putting in extra hours to raise funds for his son’s passion. His elder brother, Manoj, who is in the armed forces, was his biggest inspiration, egging him on to do better. “Whatever I am today is because he pushed me hard to become the best,” says the 25-year-old from Bhiwani.
It’s easy to see why Singh attracts more spotlight than the likes of wrestler Sushil Kumar or fellow boxer Akhil Kumar. As soon as he walks into the coffee shop in his designer clothes, curious onlookers give him more than a cursory glance. He is tall, fair and handsome, and has obviously taken time out to groom himself for this interview. Singh talks mostly in Hindi but is also comfortable speaking in English.
Though he loves every moment of the stardom, it didn’t come easy. Remembering the struggles, he says that till a few days before his first international tournament in Germany in 2001 he didn’t even have a passport. “Two days before we were to leave I got my passport and barely made it to Germany,” Singh recalls. There he won a medal and considers that — and not Beijing, as many would believe — the turning point in his career. “Post Beijing, my life has changed as a person but not as a boxer,” he adds. His family still stays in Kaluwas, a village near Bhiwani, although in a bigger three-storey house. “If I am lucky then I get to spend a month in a year with my family,” he says. His father doesn’t work with Haryana Roadways anymore, but his brother continues to wear olive green.
Few know this but Singh has won everything that is on offer at the national level. He has been crowned the national boxing champion seven times. The big moment came in 2008 when he won the bronze at Beijing. He remembers the exact date and time (August 22, 12 pm IST) and says that the next few days after his medal-winning heroics went in a complete daze. “No one knew me before that but here I was hobnobbing with top politicians, film stars and hundreds of fans who wanted my autograph,” he says. He could well be the country’s richest boxer.
Rewards began to flow in thick and fast. Singh didn’t own a car then. Now he owns three: a Ford Endeavour, a Honda CR-V and a Hyundai Verna. His next big purchase will be an Audi Q7 or a BMW. “I love cars and don’t mind splurging on them,” his eyes sparkle. In the same breath, he adds that he is a bit embarrassed about his shopping sprees. “I shop like crazy,” he says. He doesn’t look at brands or the price tags and picks up what he likes. Doesn’t his family complain? “I never tell them the actual price of the clothes,” he says with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Brand endorsement offers followed Beijing. At the moment, he endorses several brands including Siyaram’s, Nike, Nestle Munch and Pepsi. Singh admits that he enjoys photo shoots and doing commercials. There has even been talk about him doing movies. Singh discloses that he is offered roles every now and then, but he is concentrating only on boxing. He is still young and knows that he has to win some more medals if he wants a longer shelf life as a celebrity. Singh is being managed by Percept Talent Management.
He is also building goodwill. When a well known ex-cricketer dropped out of an event because the organisers could not pay what he was asking for, Singh came in without charging a penny and dazzled everyone with his style and speech. Many feel that he could do well as a motivational speaker, a la Kapil Dev.
Singh knows that all his fame and fortune comes from boxing. “When I train for a tournament, I don’t think of anything else,” he says. His day starts at 5.30 am. His workout regime differs every day: One day he runs 15 km; the second is spent in the gym; the third is dedicated to weight-training and sprints; and the rest is given to boxing. The pugilist loves to eat but has only home-cooked food. His breakfast, eaten before exercising, comprises energy drinks and bananas; lunch is chicken, dal, vegetables and chapattis; and dinner is usually light with soup and salads. He hates eating out and can’t remember the last time he had an aerated drink. “I can’t afford not to eat right,” he says. Singh doesn’t have any great interest out of his sport. He isn’t interested in cricket, nor does he like to watch movies or read books. At times he listens to music or plays games on his laptop.
Instant fame and wealth have destroyed many a young Indian sportsman, including some boxers. Singh is aware of the expectations from him but says the word pressure “doesn’t exist in my dictionary”. Lest you think that’s arrogance, Singh stumps you with a confession. “I get nervous before the night of a fight. That’s when I have my personal conversations with god,” he says. He writes down these conversations or even records videos on his phone and keeps playing them in his mind. “It helps me to keep calm, and once I am in the ring all I see is beating the other boxer,” he says.
For the next six months, he will be in Patiala training hard for the World Championships in September in Moscow. That will be his ticket to the 2012 London Olympics.
