Manoj Kumar has a lot riding on him right now. He is one of India’s biggest hopes for Gold, in this year’s Olympics Games. His first match will take place on 11 August for 'Men's light welter 64kg'. But, not everyone knows much about this boxer. Let's get to know our Rio athletes a bit more closely.
Born in the year 1986, Manoj hails from Kaithal, Haryana. No surprise there, as this seems to be the strong man and woman state of India.
Maratha Sher Singh, Manoj’s father is a retired Army officer while his mother is a housewife. His brother Rajesh Kumar was an emerging boxer, but then decided to train Manoj in this sport.
Manoj’s career was not without struggles. The initial years saw him travelling with his brother to Kaithal from his village Raijound every morning. He used bicycle tubes for training.
Becoming a national champion is no mean feat and Manoj did the impossible in the year 2008 by defeating Som Bahadur Pun.
Manoj also won the gold medal in the final match against England’s Bradley Saunders.
Once more, he won the gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games, making his country proud yet again.
Manoj is the recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award that he received from the Indian Government in the year 2014.
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