New Delhi: He might have had to settle for a bronze medal after losing in the semifinals but teen Indian boxer Vikas Krishan on Friday said he is satisfied with how he performed against older and experienced rivals in his debut World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 19-year-old Vikas lost to Ukraine's European Championship bronze-medallist Taras Shelestyuk 12-15, settling for a bronze, which was India's lone medal at the event just like the last time around.
The country had managed a bronze in the previous edition as well through Olympian Vijender Singh.
Vikas, who was an Asian Games gold-medallist in the light weight (60kg) division, jumped to welter weight just two months before the World Championships, his debut event in the new category.
"I am very satisfied with my performance as I competed against some very tough guys in my draw and given that it was my debut event in the welter weight division, I will happily take this bronze medal," Vikas told PTI from Baku.
The Haryana-lad, who is a former youth world champion, said he felt a tad tired during his bout against a muscular 26-year-old rival.
"I was tired because jumping a couple of divisions and adjusting to it is no easy task. I know I could have performed better but everything is god's will and if he wanted a bronze for me, I would take that bronze," said the teen, who has won admiration for his tactful boxing.
"My rival today was a mature guy, who kept attacking me, drained my energy. I tried very hard in the first two rounds to work out a counter-strategy but it was not to be my day. In the final round, I took things as they came," said the boxer, who finished the final three minutes of his bout 6-5 ahead.
"It has been a fantastic learning experience and I am sure I will be going a step further when I compete in this event the next time. The big achievement here is that I have qualified for the Olympics and I can't be happier because of that," he assured.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was all praise for the teen, saying he is a future world champion.
"His ability belies his age, I am sure he will be a world champion the next time," said Sandhu.
"Even overall, I am very happy with my performance because four of my boxers (Vikas, L Devendro Singh, Jai Bhagwan and Manoj Kumar) qualified for the Olympics by reaching quarterfinals. It's a laudable performance and I am proud of them," he added.
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