Sidelined from the semi-final clash in men’s 75kg boxing category at the Asian Games following an eye injury, ace boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav has confirmed that he will turn a pro boxer to achieve his dream of winning an Olympic medal. Vikas, 26, had earlier hinted of turning a pro at the end of the year after winning a gold at Commonwealth games.
“Sometimes luck doesn’t favour you and you miss out. I wanted a gold but due to the eye injury I couldn’t. I really want to win a medal at Olympics now and I don’t want to leave it to the draw or the level of competition. So I want to train accordingly,” Vikas told PTI as reported by Times of India.
I will need to turn professional to achieve my Olympic dream- Vikas
“That sort of preparation (for Olympics) can only happen in professional boxing and not in amateur. So I want to switch to professional boxing. I don’t want to leave anything to chance,” said Vikas.
The middle weight boxer said that he will meet and discuss it with BFI President Ajay Singh and his coaches about his move to be a professional boxer.
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I will take a break of two months- Vikas
“It has been a very stressful 9-10 months for me. When people expect from you, there is pressure and I want to take a break for a couple of months. My injury will take another 25 days to heal. So I will plan accordingly and then resume my training,” he said.
Indian Olympian boxers who turned pro
Vijender Singh is the prominent name who turned pro after serving as an Amateur boxer for the country. The 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist who also competed in the 75kg category, turned pro in 2015, signing for Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.
Another two prominent names include Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar.
