'Lucky to win World medal, there were better boxers": Manish Kaushik

This has to be the height of humility. After becoming the fifth Indian boxer in history to win a bronze medal at the World Boxing Championship in Russia, Manish Kaushik played down his achievement saying he was "just lucky" to get the medal as there were many "better" boxers than him.

"Actually it's yet to sink in. Still not able to believe it. In fact, I feel I was very lucky. There were so many technically superior boxers than me. I won because of lung power and larger heart perhaps. Though I had worked very hard and gave my best technically I have to improve a lot if I have to qualify for Olympics and win a medal" Manish told Republic TV in an exclusive chat after his return from World Championship.

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Manish looked more happy for Amit Panghal and kept on praising him and the entire boxing contingent. 

Manish said: "It's not just all about medals. Some of the other boxers played very well and they came so close. I feel bad for them but Indian boxing is on the rise and I feel at least 7 boxers will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Amit is a sure shot medalist and there are four to five other boxers -- all highly talented who did well in the World Championship and others waiting in wings in India. We have a very very talented pool of boxers."

Manish Kaushik became fifth Indian boxer to win bronze for India at the World Championship after Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015) and Gaurav Bidhuri (2019). All of them had won bronze for India.

Manish will now take some break and start preparing for the nationals from next month and wants to concentrate on the process rather than result as he feels improving his technique would be key to success at the Olympic level.

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