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, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

. He hails from the village of Rajound in the Kaithal district of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

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 ...

and comes from a

Ror Ror (or Rod) is a caste found primarily in the Indian states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Occupation and culture As of a 1990 report by the Government of Haryana, they were mostly engaged in farming, with some practising animal husbandry. ...

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

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

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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 Ch ...

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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 Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

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

17–11, Ray Moylette of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

19–7 and Hu Qing of

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17–15. 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 of

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

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. The final score read 20–16, the break-up being 7–4, 9–5, 4–7 in the favour 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 (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

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 given 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 Arjun ...

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 honour 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 21st-century Indian sportsmen 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 for India Boxers at the 2006 Asian Games Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games 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 Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 2010 Asian Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing