Before the Tokyo Olympics, Ashish Kumar might not like this favorite label, but the middleweight boxer did not let this affect him. He is currently participating in the Olympic preparatory camp in Assisi, Italy, and he is content to stay away from the spotlight.

Ashish told me that it helps me stay focused Sports Keida.

“It works for me to stay away from the spotlight. It gives me enough space to use my strength and stay focused.”

The 26-year-old boxer from Himachal Pradesh will make his first Olympic appearance in the 75kg competition. In 2008, Indian player Vijad Singh won the bronze medal in the same group.

Ashish was one of nine Indian boxers who went to Tokyo. In March 2020, he secured a seat at the Summer Olympics in the Asian/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.

Away from the spotlight, Ashish is working hard to strengthen his strength in order to have an impact on his debut.

He says:

“Our Olympic preparations have entered the home court. Since my preliminaries started on July 27th, the main focus is to stay healthy, maintain weight and reach the top at the right time.”

In addition to maintaining his health, the Indian boxer also pays close attention to his opponent.

“We must study the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents and formulate strategies to gain the upper hand in the competition.”

According to Ashish, the middleweight is the hardest of all categories.

“If a boxer’s speed and strength are not well combined, surviving the first few rounds of a big game will be a challenging task.”

In the process of preparing for the Olympics, Ashish faced an arduous task. In March, he tested positive for COVID-19 in an international competition in Spain.

According to Ashish, he had a mild fever the day before the semi-finals, but this put him in isolation in Spain for 7 days.

“Being locked in the four walls of the room in Spain for a week was a psychological battle for me. I recovered faster than expected,” he revealed.

After returning to India, Ashshi had to undergo another week of quarantine before joining Patiala’s national camp.

He has left this episode behind. Ashish is now looking forward to a good performance in Japan.

“I am ready to face tough opponents from European countries including Russia.”

The Indian team currently in Italy will fly directly to Tokyo on July 17.

Amit Panghal (52 kg), Manish Kaushik (63 kg), Vikas Krishan Yadav (69 kg) and Satish Kumar (91 kg) are the other four male boxers who will represent India in the Tokyo Olympics.

London 2012 bronze medalists Mary Kom (51 kg), Simranjit Kaur (60 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg) and Pooja Rani (75 kg) qualified for the women’s group.