Punching their way to gold

Bhiwani: Following Mumbai’s footsteps for producing most of India's best cricketers at one time; Bhiwani does the same for boxing now.

Akhil Kumar along with Vijender Kumar and Jitender Kumar are all from the same boxing club in the small town of Bhiwani.

They have no luxurious life. Their room looks like it could collapse any moment and the space in the room can hardly accommodate one individual yet is shared by two.

Despite of the odds stacked up against them the boxers from Bhiwani manage to make World Champions.

“Boxing in Bhiwani is not a sport, it's life. Around 2,000 people are boxers here. You will find kids boxing in every street” says Dharmveer Sharma.

More than 150 kids practice at the Sports Authority of India training center in bhiwani everyday, and most of them come from humble backgrounds and boxing is their windows to success.

“Lot needs to be done for Indian boxing” says 20-year-old Sanjay who has been practicing for the last eight years and dreams of winning an Olympic gold someday.

However, Akhil’s crash out from the quarter-finals in the Beijing Olympic has not dampened the spirits of the young lads.

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