Thumb injury fails to deter Vijender

Vijender won the middleweight gold medal on Friday after beating Atoev Abbos of Uzbekistan in the final, during which he hurt his thumb. He was taken to the hospital where the dislocation was revealed. The thumb has been put in a cast, according to India’s chief coach Gurbux Singh Sandhu.

“They put it in a cast, immobilizing it. He will be out of action for three to four weeks. We will now go back home and see the doctor there,” said Sandhu.

Sandhu said team-work was the reason behind the Indian boxers’ best ever performance in Asian Games. “Continuity in training played a good part.

We also have a good team of eight coaches, including myself and Cuban coach BI Fernandez. We all worked together and received excellent support from the federation and the Sports Authority of India in preparing this team,” said the coach.

Sandhu has also told his wards to stay away from the ring and him for at least the next one month. “It’s a complete break for them before they start preparing for the London Olympics through the qualifying rounds which commence with the World Championships sometime in September next year,” Sandhu said.