Gold Coast silver medallist eyes govt job
LUCKNOW:Silver medallist boxer at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Satish Kumar Yadav on Tuesday made an official request for appointment to a gazetted post in the state government even as four medallists of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 are still awaiting appointment as per the GO issued in 2015.
Bulandshahr’s Satish met senior officers of UP sports directorate on Tuesday and gave his consent for a job in the state government, if offered.
“I would love to serve my own state, if given an offer,” Satish said on Tuesday. “I would also love to play for our state at the nationals as so far I have been representing services for being a subedar in Army Sports Institute at Pune.”
Satish, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in 2014, lost the super heavyweight (+91 kilogram) title by a unanimous 0:5 verdict to Frazer Clarke of England after a tough fought final in which both boxers pushed themselves to the limit.
“The infrastructure as well as support to players in UP should be upgraded as there is no dearth of talent in the state,” said Satish, who started his sporting career with wrestling and kabbadi. “I also played cricket for some time but as soon as I joined army I was asked to do boxing,” he recalled.
He, however, accepted that his next mission is to change the colour of his medal to gold at the forthcoming Asian Games to be held at Jakarta later this year.
“Undoubtedly, the standard of competition at the Asian Games would be different but I am quite sure of winning a gold there as I have put in a lot of hard work in my training. “A gold medal at Olympics is my ultimate dream. Before that Asian games would be a big opportunity to make it happen,” he added.
The level of competition at the Asian Games will have boxers from former Soviet nations like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan along with Mongolia, Thailand, China and South Korea.
“The experience at the Gold Coast Games has given me a lot of confidence. Boxers from Australia, England, New Zealand and Ireland are very strong in the Super Heavyweight category. They have extremely good technique as well. I learned a lot by fighting against them,” he said. He admitted that in the final bout at the Gold Coast, he was sure of a gold medal but he was surprised when the judges awarded Clarke a unanimous 5:0 victory.
“Not just me, many among the public at the venue were also surprised and unhappy over the decision. The officials from European nations like England or Australia support each other during major tournaments and Indian boxers suffer as a result,” he added.
BULANDSHAHR’S SATISH MET SENIOR OFFICERS OF UP SPORTS DIRECTORATE ON TUESDAY AND GAVE HIS CONSENT FOR A JOB IN THE STATE GOVERNMENT, IF OFFERED