Akhil Kumar

Akhil Kumar
Akhil Kumar at Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Bash
Born	(1981-03-27) March 27, 1981 Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India [1]
Residence	Rohtak, Haryana, India
Nationality	Indian
Citizenship	Indian
Occupation	Boxer Bantamweight
Height	168 cm

Medal record
Men's Boxing
Competitor for India
Commonwealth Games
Gold	2006 Melbourne	Bantamweight
Asian Championships
Bronze	2007 Ulan Bator	Bantamweight

Akhil Kumar is an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards. He practices an “Open Guarded” boxing style. In 2005, the Indian government gave him the Arjuna Award for his achievements in international Boxing.

Akhil Kumar was born in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh on 27 March 1981. He started boxing at 13. His first fight at “School State level Boxing” was in Haryana.

Career

2004–2005

Kumar qualified for the Athens Games by winning second place at the 1st AIBA Asian 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Guangzhou, PR China. In the first round he lost to Uzbekistan's Tulashboy Doniyorov. At the Olympics 2004, he lost in the first round to Jerome Thomas.

In 2005, Kumar won the gold medal at the 4th Commonwealth Federation Boxing Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. He defeated Bongani Mahalangu of South Africa by a narrow margin of 18-17 in the 54 kg final.

2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games

In the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he won the gold medal in the Bantamweight 54 kg category by edging out Nigerian Nestor Bolum and defeating Mauritian Bruno Julie in the final.

He landed six unanswered blows in the opening round of the final. The second round was quite even, with Kumar winning 5-4. He did slightly better in round 3, winning it 6-4, and despite losing the final round 3-4, succeeded in avoiding the single punch that might have cost him the tie.

2008 Beijing Olympics

Kumar qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, beating among others, the silver medallist from the 2004 Summer Olympics, Worapoj Petchkoom, at the Asian boxing qualifying tournament in Bangkok. At the Olympic event, he made his way to the second round in the Bantamweight 54 kg category beating Frenchman Ali Hallab on points 12-5. In the round of 16, he controversially^{[citation needed]} beat current World Champion Sergey Vodopyanov, coming from 2-6 down in the second round of the bout. The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the fourth round but the judges' decided in Kumar's favor because he landed a greater number of punches. He lost 3-10 to Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova in the quarter finals on August 18, 2008.

Awards

Kumar received the Arjuna award in 2005.

1994–2004

Kumar first competed in International boxing in 1999, winning a Gold medal in the 6th YMCA. Junior International Boxing Championship. In 2001 he won another gold medal in the International Invitational Boxing Championship in Russia. In 2003, he won a Gold medal in the flyweight category by defeating Vilitio M Payla (Php) by 20-16. He won a Best Boxer Award three times, in additions to twelve Gold, one Silver, and four Bronze medals.

2004–2006

At the 2004 Olympics he lost in the first round to Jerome Thomas. In 2005, he won the gold medal at the 4th Commonwealth Boxing Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. He narrowly defeated Bongani Mahalangu of South Africa by 18-17 in the 54 kg final. Kumar received the Arjuna Award in 2005.

He won gold medal in the Bantamweight 54 kg category at the 2006 Commonwealth Games by edging out Nigerian Nestor Bolum and defeating Mauritian Bruno Julie in the final.

2008 Beijing Olympics and AIBA World Cup

Kumar qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games by beating, among others, the silver medalist from the 2004 Summer Olympics, Worapoj Petchkoom, at the Asian boxing qualifying tournament in Bangkok.

At the Olympic event, he made his way to the second round in the Bantamweight 54 kg category beating Frenchman Ali Hallab on points 12-5. In round 16, he beat current World Champion Sergey Vodopyanov, coming from 2-6 down in the second round of the bout. The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the fourth round, but the judges decided in Kumar's favor because he landed more punches. He lost 3-10 to Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova in the quarter finals on August 18, 2008.

In AIBA World Cup 2008 held at Moscow, Kumar Beat Marcel Schinder of Germany in quarterfinals with a marvelous margin of 15-6. In the semifinals the final score was equal, 4-4, but this time, the judges awarded the match to his opponent. Kumar won a Bronze.

2012 London Olympics

Akhil Kumar has been ruled out of 2012 London Olympics as he failed to reduce weight in time to take part in the Asian Continental Olympic qualification tournament, to be held in Astana( Kazakhstan) in April, 2012.

Achievements

 Tournament             Venue           Performance  

 Champions of Champion tournament February 2009, China Bronze

 World Amateur Men Boxing Championship Milan, Italy, September 2009 Participation

 World Cup 2008   Moscow   Bronze  

 Beijing Olympic Boxing 2008 China    Quarter Finalist 

 Beijing olympic Boxing Qualifyng feb. 2008    Bangkok    Gold ( Best Boxer )  

 24th Sr. Asian Boxing championship June 2007    Mongolia    Bronze  

 15th Asian Games Dec. 2006    Doha    Participate  

 SAF Games Dec. 2006    colombo    gold  

 18th commonwealth Games march 2006    melbourne    gold  

 13th world boxing championship nov. 2005    china    Participate 

 4th commonwealth boxing championship Aug. 2005    Scotland    gold  

 Athens olympic Aug. 2004    Athens    Participate  

 Pre, olympic Aug. May 2004    athens    Bronze  

 "china Unicom" March 2004 ( Athens olympic boxing Qualifing )    china    silver  

 1st AFRO- Asian games nov. 2003    Hyderabad    gold  

 3rd commonwealth boxing championship Sep. 2003    Malaysia    Bronze  


 12th world boxing championship July 2003    Thailand    participate  


 Sr.International Boxing Championship    Uzbekistan    gold  

 2nd Eduardo Garcia International Tournament June 2003    Cuba    gold (Best boxer) 

 36th Geraldo cordova cardin boxing Tournament May 2003    Cuba    participate  

 Felicia stamm International Tournament April 2002    Poland    participate  

 Regatta boxing championship Sep.2002    Seychelles    gold (Best boxer )  

 21st Asian boxing championship June 2002    Malaysia    participate  

 25th kings cup April 2002    Thailand    participate  

 Prof. Dr. Anwar chaudhary cup March 2002    Azerbaijan    participate  

 11th International boxing tournament Sep. 2002    Russia    gold  

 4th Brandenburg cup Aug. 1999    Germany    Bronze  

 6th Y. M. C. A. International boxing championship March 1999.    Delhi    Gold  
(ref: http://www.akhilkumarboxer.com/achi.htm)

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Kumar once said, “For winning you might have to hit your opponent more and harder, but you also get hit...victory or defeat, both come with pain.”

Outside the ring, Kumar leads a simple life. By beating the world’s top bantamweight boxer, Kumar gained popularity in India, even though he lost the next match. His attitude impressed many, when after his victory he said, “Dreams aren’t those which we see in our sleep. Dreams are those which don’t let us sleep.”(1)

He lost in the quarterfinals, but retained his popularity. Several weeks after the Olympics came to a close, Kumar admits he still feels the pain of the loss, retains his confidence. He says the person he idolises is himself. Kumar says that, though he won the hearts of the Indian people, “The fact is that I am a loser, I didn’t win the Gold.” According to Kumar, recovery will only start by winning a Gold medal in the coming Commonwealth Games and World Championships: “There is only one medal which is hard-earned — gold. Others are won by luck and destiny.” He says that’s one of the main reasons that Abhinav Bindra is an Indian hero. Speaking of remaining positive after a loss, he said, “I am very selective of the information I want to receive, and of the people and company I have around. That has made a lot of difference.” He says he is blessed with a quality to filter out unwanted things. “I like to read and watch inspirational and dedicative stories. That is my way of looking at things,” says Kumar.

The Faizabad-born athlete says that boxing is an addiction, but with consequences: “For winning you might have to hit your opponent more and harder, but you also get hit. Victory or defeat, both come with pain.”

As senior boxer on the Indian contingent, Akhil kept his chin, up even in distress: “The way I conduct myself will obviously rub off on my junior colleagues.” He is happy that Indian boxing finally broke the medal barrier. He says to younger boxers like Jitender and Vijender: “Don’t win the medal, just snatch it.” Boxing has gained new attention in India. “Since most of us come from the hinterland, no one knew what we were capable of,” explains Kumar.

Kumar says he is happy about the inclusion of women boxing in the 2012 London Olympics. "We have very good talents in women boxing and can hope for medals in the London Games...but we males lose out four gold medals categories to accommodate the women."

Kumar is unhappy about changes in the scoring system and feel that it has made the sport easy and unattractive. "In past, boxing was remembered for the style and grandeur of the greats (like Muhammad Ali) but with the changes everybody has to be on their guard during the bout."

When asked about the recent controversy over the trial system in shooting (Bindra), Kumar said both party were right for their reasons. "Trials are always important, it gives the opportunity for lesser known athletes to showcase their talents and earn their place in national squad, but the case with Bindra was little different, he is an Olympic champion and has been performing exceedingly well at the international level, so you can't ignore him for the squad."

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
7 matches	7 wins	0 losses
By knockout	7	0
By submission	0	0
By decision	0	0

		Pratap Ramsing		Bombay WOFF Open x10	02011-06-03June 3, 2011			Bombay, India
Loss	7-0	Mashal Mi Koo	KO	Bombay WOFF Open 7	02010-12-16December 16, 2010	1	1:01	Bombay	For WEC Bantamweight Championship and UFC Bantamweight Championship
Win	6-0	Brad Otto	KO	[[]]	02010-08-18August 18, 2010	1	0:31	Goa	Won Fight of the Night
Win	5-0	Anto Singh	KO	Open Goa x10 - sh	02010-04-24April 24, 2010	1	1:11	Goa
Win	4-0	Mastek George	KO	Mrr25 Bombay	02010-03-06March 6, 2010	1	0:23	Bombay
Win	3-0	Takei Yamota	Decision (Unanimous)	WFFX India	02009-12-19December 19, 2009	2	0:05	Bombay	Won Fight of the Night
Win	2-0	Noahsh Pradesha	KO (Headkick)	YXX TIGER GATE	02009-10-10October 10, 2009	1	1:09	New Dehli

External links

• Official Website

References

One good 'punch' can change boxers' life: Akhil Kumar; Hijam Raju Singh, TNN, Feb 11, 2010, 06.41pm IST; http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/boxing/One-good-punch-can-change-boxers-life-Akhil-Kumar/articleshow/5561242.cms