Manoj Kumar (born 10 December 1986), is an Indian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who won a gold medal in the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

division at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. He hails from the village of Rajound in the

Kaithal district Kaithal district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana, state in northern India. Kaithal town is the district headquarters. The district occupies an area of 2317 km2. It has a population of 1,074,304 (2011 census). It is part of Karnal divi ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

Early life and debut in boxing

Kumar was born on 10 December 1986 in Rajound village, 30 km from

Kaithal Kaithal () is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the K ...

and comes from a

Ror Ror is a caste found primarily in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the parts of Baiswara in Uttar Pradesh that are inhabited by Ror people, Rors along with groups such as the Chauhans and Tomars are associated with Delhi and its outskirts. Occu ...

family. 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. Manoj Kumar became national Champion for the first time when he beat defending champion Som Bahadur Pun in 2008. After that Manoj never looked back. He won the gold medal at the

Career

Commonwealth Games 2010

* Won against D Lassayo (Sierra Leone) * Won against G Gaasite (Botswana) * Won against B Mathenge of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in the quarters * Won 3–1 against V Knowles of

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

in a low scoring semifinal * Won 11–2 against

Bradley Saunders Bradley Saunders (born 4 February 1986) is a British professional boxer. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the light welterweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, gold at the 2009 EU Championships and bronze at the 2007 World Cha ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final and became champion.

2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships

Kumar reached the quarterfinals, losing 18–24 to

Tom Stalker Thomas Lee Stalker (born 30 June 1984) is an English professional boxer who challenged for the Commonwealth lightweight title in 2017. He won multiple international medals while competing for England as an amateur, including gold at the 2010 C ...

, at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. Earlier in the competition, Kumar had defeated Valentino Knowles of

17–11,

Ray Moylette Raymond Peter Moylette (born 11 April 1990), sometimes spelled Moylett, is an Irish professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Ireland, winning gold medals at the 2008 Youth World Championships and 2011 European Championships. Amateu ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

19–7 and

Hu Qing Hu Qing (born January 19, 1986) is a male amateur boxer from China. He competed at the 2006 Asian Games in the lightweight (- 60 kg) division winning the gold medal in the match against Mongolia's Uranchimegiin Mönkh-Erdene. At the World Cham ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

17–15. This last victory against

had sealed his qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games.

London Olympics 2012

Manoj won the first round against Serdar Hudayberdiyev of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

by a score of 13–7 and advanced to the last 16. But he lost his pre-quarterfinal bout against world #1 ranked

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The final score read 20–16, the break-up being 7–4, 9–5, 4–7 in the favor of Stalker. Expressing disapproval at the second round scoring, Manoj cited "blatant cheating" as the reason for his defeat as he exited the competition.

2014 Commonwealth Games

At the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Sam Maxwell.

2016 South Asian Games

In 2016 South Asian Games held in Guwahati, Manoj Kumar wins gold medal in his weight category.

2018 India Open International Boxing Tournament

In 2018, India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Delhi, Manoj Kumar wins bronze medal in his weight category.

Awards

He was awarded

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

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". He won the bronze at Commonwealth Games 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Manoj Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Indian male boxers Living people 1986 births Light-welterweight boxers People from Kaithal district Boxers from Haryana Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of India Boxers at the 2006 Asian Games Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Boxers at the 2018 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games medalists in boxing Recipients of the Arjuna Award