CWG medal a birthday present for son, says doting dad Vijender

GLASGOW: A swollen face, a ligament injury in the left hand and a sore throat courtesy a bout of flu — Vijender Singh fought through all this to get a nearperfect birthday present for his son — a Commonwealth Games silver medal.

The former middleweight world No 1 lost to England’s Antony Fowler in the final last night to settle for his second silver medal in the Commonwealth Games.

“I sustained an injury very soon into the bout. It is a ligament injury in the left hand. It hampered me immensely and allowed him to get the upperhand but I feel I still managed to put up a decent fight in the last round,” said the 28-year-old.

“The pain is quite a lot to take when you are constantly getting hit. The injury made me a little conscious also and that affected my overall plan. This morning, I woke up with a swollen face and my left hand is hurting badly,” he said.

The former Olympic and World Championships bronze-medallist was also down with flu since the quarterfinal stage of the Games.

“I was taking a paracetamol pill before every bout. But that is no excuse, I lost and that’s a disappointing fact but I am happy that I fought well despite not being physically 100 per cent,” he said. “It is my son’s birthday tomorrow (on Sunday), so this medal is for him. It’s his birthday present. A gold would have been better but even this silver, I dedicate it to him. He is my world.”

As for the injury that he has sustained, Vijender said he would consult doctors before taking a call on whether to give the Asian Games a shot. Vijender is the defending gold-medallist at the event.

“It will depend on what the doctors tell me,” he said. “The scheduling of these events is such that these issues always crop up. Either there should be a bigger gap or medallists from one event should not be asked to appear for trials for the next.”