Vijender Singh needs more stamina: Gurbax Singh Sandhu

Vijender Singh (L) is a Olympic bronze-medalist for India. (Source: AP)

A day after Vijender Singh turned professional, coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, who has worked with the boxer for a decade and a half, spoke about his most famous ward’s chances in his new endeavour.

On his first reaction?

We were aiming for the Rio Olympics and if he would have stayed, it would have been a record for him to play in his fourth Olympics. There was money in amateur circuit. But I guess he always wanted to be a professional.

On Vijender’s chances?

Vijender has been a sensible boxer and he knew his limitations also. He is good at straight punches and counter attacks and he is always quick to change his style. In professional boxing, he will have to work on his stamina and with fewer bouts per year with wide gaps, he needs to maintain his style and fitness. It’s not easy. You play different boxers and in different conditions and you plan for that one bout for 3-4 months in an year, unlike amateur boxing where you fight 4-5 bouts in a week.

On what it means for Indian boxing?

We have lost a great team-mate, a good boxer and a good motivator in the Indian team. In his weight category, we always had 2-3 best boxers and he would be excited to train. He understood his responsibility and that showed in 2010 Asian games when after the CWG loss, he won the gold medal.