Gaurav Bidhuri became India's first medallist at the 2017 Boxing World Championships by beating Bilel Mhamdi in the 56kg quarterfinals in Hamburg on Tuesday. Assured of bronze, Gaurav is only the fourth Indian man to win a medal at Worlds, joining Vijender Singh, Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan. In an interview with ESPN some time back, Gaurav opened up about the reasons behind taking up boxing, his role models and life outside the ring. Here are the excerpts.
How did you get started in boxing?
Actually, my father was also a boxer. He performed at the national level, but his career got shortened because he got married at an early age. After giving up boxing, he started his own boxing club, where he would coach other boxers. I would just go to visit him there. Slowly, he realized that I was also interested in boxing. He then entered me in the junior state championships, where I won the gold medal. That's when he first saw the potential in me and put me in boxing full-time and I also started enjoying it. I then chose boxing as my career.
When was the first time that you thought you could pursue boxing as a profession?
I'd say my first junior national boxing championship. It was in Noida in UP. It was my first junior championship and I won gold there. That was my stepping stone and that's when I thought I should choose boxing now. My father also believed then that I could do it.
What are the qualities a good boxer must have?
He should be punctual and dedicated towards training. He should have a good lifestyle and good eating habits.
How much of boxing is about playing to your own strengths and knowing and exploiting your opponent's weaknesses?
Everyone will find himself to be strong. Whatever he does, he feels that he is the best at it, and he should do that. The other thing is never to take your opponent lightly. We must believe that he is as good as we are, but we must look out for his weakness. We must work on that weakness and improve ourselves in order to beat him.
Who have been your biggest role models?
Like every other Indian boxer, I'd have to say Vijender Singh. He got the first Indian medal at the Olympics. After that, I'd say my Dad.
Is there a specific compliment that you've received about your style of boxing that has given you a lot of confidence?
Everyone says that I play with my heart. I don't hesitate in taking steps in the ring; I just give whatever I have.
What do you like to do outside of the boxing ring...your hobbies?
I'm a very cool guy. Besides boxing, I play football. I was very good at it - I played district-level when I was in school. Sometimes over the weekends, I like to go out. I am fond of chocolates. I like wearing good clothes, I like wearing good shoes. I like having unique hairstyles and I like to dress well.
You like chocolates, and you mentioned how important it is for a boxer to have a good diet. Does it become difficult sometimes to balance the two?
Yeah, that's because in boxing you have to maintain your weight too. Whenever we have a competition, we have to maintain a strict diet. Of course, if you have chocolates you tend to gain weight. So during that time, I stop this habit of mine
Is there any particular aspect of your boxing that opponents need to watch out for?
Yeah, I use a combination of punches and with a good speed. We have tests over here in NIS (Netaji National Institute of Sports, Patiala) annually, and one of them is against a punching machine, which calculates how many punches you give. In 15 seconds, I hit 56 punches. So my plus point is my speed and my aggression.
(Gaurav will have a chance to become the first Indian man to claim silver when he takes on USA's Duke Ragan in the semis on August 31.)