Manoj Kumar (boxer)

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Manoj Kumar
File:ManojKumarBoxer.jpg
Manoj after winning gold at the 2010 CWG[1]
Personal information
Full name Manoj Kumar Kaltagdia[2]
Nationality Indian
Citizenship Indian
Born (1986-12-10) 10 December 1986 (age 37)[3]
Rajound,[4] Kaithal, Haryana
Residence Haryana, India
Occupation Boxer Light Welterweight
Height 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)[5]

Manoj Kumar (born 10 December 1986) is an Indian boxer who won a gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He hails from the village of Rajound in the Kaithal district of Haryana.[8] Kumar is currently supported by the Olympic Gold Quest.[9]

Early life and debut in boxing

Manoj Kumar was born on 10 December 1986 in Rajound village, 30 km from Kaithal, Haryana. His father Sher Singh retired from the Indian Army, while his mother is a housewife. Manoj Kumar initially started his career as an athlete, while his elder brother Rajesh Kumar Rajound was an emerging boxer. When Rajesh Kumar Rajound won gold in the University championship he was expecting to be selected for the National team. However he was ignored, and therefore decided to bring his younger brother into boxing. He started to coach Manoj Kumar and also insisted his younger brother Mukesh Kumar change from judo to boxing to become a sparring partner of Manoj Kumar. All three travelled from their village Rajound to Kaithal to train. In the early days they trained with the help of old bicycle tubes.[10][11]

Manoj Kumar became National Champion for the first time when he beat defending champion Som Bahadur Pun in 2008.[12][13] After that Manoj never looked back. He won Gold Medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games.[14]

Career

Commonwealth Games 2010

  • Won against D Lassayo (Sierra Leone)
  • Won against G Gaasite (Botswana)
  • Won against B Mathenge of Kenya in the quarters
  • Won 3–1 against V Knowles of Bahamas in a low scoring semifinal
  • Won 11–2 against Bradley Saunders of England in the final and became champion.

2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships

Kumar reached the quarterfinals, losing 18–24 to Tom Stalker, at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. Earlier in the competition, Kumar had defeated Valentino Knowles of Bahamas 17–11, Ray Moylette of Ireland 19–7 and Hu Qing of China 17–15.[15] This last victory against Hu Qing had sealed his qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games.

London Olympics 2012

Manoj won the first round against Serdar Hudayberdiyev by a score of 13–7 and advanced to the last 16. But he lost his pre-quarterfinal bout against world number 1 Tom Stalker of Great Britain in a controversial manner.[16] The final score read 20–16, the break-up being 7–4, 9–5, 4–7 in the favor of Stalker.[17] The Indian boxer was at the wrong end of some dubious judging calls with the second round scoreline of 9–5 to Stalker. Manoj cited "cheating" openly as the reason for his defeat before leaving the boxing arena.[18]

Awards

He was awarded Arjuna Award by Government of India in 2014. Initially he was not considered for Arjuna Award by the selection committee headed by former Indian Cricket Team Captain Kapil Dev. However, his coach Rajesh Kumar Rajound file a case against the selection committee on 26 August 2014 in Delhi High Court. Rajesh claimed that Manoj was the most deserving sports person for the Arjuna Award and that the selection committee ignored him. Delhi High Court accepted his petition and after seeing all the facts directed the government to honor Manoj Kumar with the "Arjuna Award".[19][20][21][22]

References

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  10. Manoj only new face in boxing - Indian Express
  11. Manoj Kumar | Olympic Gold Quest
  12. Pun skips replay - The Hindu
  13. Railways claim National Boxing title - Rediff.com Sports
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  15. Manoj Kumar's profile from the AIBA website
  16. Tom Stalker is ranked world number 1 at 64kg in the latest official AIBA World Rankings
  17. Boxer Manoj Kumar Alleges Foul Play in Thomas Stalker Bout at Olympics
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  19. Boxer Manoj Kumar drags Arjuna Award selection committee to Delhi High Court over non-selection | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
  20. Arjuna Award snub! Boxer Manoj Kumar to sue Sports Ministry : Other Sports, News - India Today
  21. Boxer Manoj Kumar to file case against Sports Ministry - timesofindia-economictimes
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