Vikas Krishan, one of the three Indian boxers to have qualified for the Rio Olympics, on Monday said he has bright prospects of winning a bronze medal at the upcoming Games, which could be his last.
Vikas (75kg) grabbed an Olympic berth with a bronze-medal finish at the recently-concluded International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"I have a feeling that I will win a bronze medal at Rio Olympics. I will have to win two bouts to bag a bronze. I am hoping to get a favorable draw as my world ranking is decent and hopefully won't face tough boxers in my first two rounds," said Vikas.
"The fact that I will be fighting in same category in which Vijender Singh had won a bronze gives me a strong feeling that I will also finish third. Vijender had won a bronze at the World Championship and so did I, while he had bagged a silver at Asian Championship and I too did the same," he said.
Vikas, who had lost to USA's Errol Spence in the pre-quarterfinals of the 2012 London Olympics, said he would not leave any stone unturned to win a medal this time around as it would be his last Games.
"For the London Olympics, I had qualified some eight months prior to the Games but had failed to win a medal there.
This time there was a lot of tension as I had not qualified earlier, but that forced me to work very hard. I didn't rest for a single day. That reflected in my results in Baku as I comfortably won three of my bouts. So, I am better prepared and more confident this time. Moreover, compared to the last Olympics, I have a bagful of experience also."
"I'm determined to give my best at Rio as it is going to be my last Olympics," he added.
Talking about his training plans for Rio, he stated, "I am going to Venezuela on June 30 and will be there till July 10. Even though I won't participate due to some rules, I will be looking to train with sparring partners as a practice for the Rio Games. Some of the best boxers are supposed to be there.
After coming back from Venezuela, I will continue my training in India before leaving for the Games."
At the previous Olympics in London, eight boxers had qualified from the country; a number that has reduced to three this year. Vikas, however, felt optimistic about the team.
"We have a small but a very good team. Both Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumar are very good and capable of winning medals. In fact, those two can get gold," he said.