Having served as national coach for close to two decades during which India produced its first Olympic medallist in boxing, Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu is retiring after London Games and the only farewell gift he wants from his wards is to bring home better than the bronze Vijender Singh notched up in Beijing four years ago.
The 59-year-old, who was first appointed senior nationalcoach in 1993, said he would leave a satisfied man if the unprecedented seven-strong contingent training under his tutelage goes on to improve upon the one bronze performance in 2008 Olympics that changed the face of Indian boxing.
This is a representational image. AFP
“I am anyways retiring next year as an NIS coach because I would have touched 60. But even otherwise I don’t wish to continue beyond London. Hopefully I will do it with a better coloured medal. I have enjoyed my career immensely and I am a very satisfied man,” Sandhu told PTI.
“The Indian Boxing Federation elections are due later this year and whether I continue as national coach would be their call but I would personally want to step down after London,” he said.
The effervescent Punjabi, who first became a coach in 1978, has seen the worst and the best of Indian boxing and looking back at the rollercoaster ride, Sandhu said he sometimes feels amazed at the way the sport has grown.
“There used to be a time when these boys would not even have cycles but today they flash the best of imported cars. I feel so happy to see this change. The fact that these boys are not just winning medals but are also securing their future financially means that the sport will only go forward from here,” said Sandhu.
He said the recent success in boxing was a combined effort of all his associate coaches — Jaidev Bisht, C Kuttappa and Ramanand, Cuban coach B I Fernandes and the support staff.
PTI
