Akhil Kumar (born 27 March 1981) is an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards. He practices an "open guarded" boxing style. In 2005, the Indian government gave him the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

for his achievements in international boxing. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Akhil Kumar along with

Mary Kom Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom (born 01 March 1983) is an Indian amateur boxer, politician, and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to ha ...

as national observers for boxing. He is a member of Haryana Police Service cadre who currently serves as Deputy superintendent of police. * Worked as Nation Observer, Boxing (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India) from 2017-2019. * Member: High Powered Committee of Khelo India. * Member: TIDC (Talent Identification and Development Committee) Khelo India (Boxing) * One of the Panellist of the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) from 2017-2019 and from 2021 to till date. * Appointed as the Selection Committee Member for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award in 2012. (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award are National Awards. These are the award for the Best Sportsmen in India) * Appointed as the Selection Committee Member for the Bhim Award in 2013. (Bhim Award is a State Award and it is an award for the best Sports person in Haryana) * Competed One Year Regular SAI NS NIS Diploma in Sports Coaching (Boxing): Topper and A Grade. *Selection Committee member (BFI) for selection of Indian Boxing team for international exposures. *

Career

1994–2004

Kumar first competed in International boxing in 1999, winning a gold medal in the 6th YMCA Junior International Boxing Championship. In 2001 he won another gold medal in the International Invitational Boxing Championship in Russia. In 2003, he won a gold medal in the flyweight category by defeating Vilitio M Payla (Php) 20-16. He won a Best Boxer award three times, in addition to twelve gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.

2004–2005

Kumar qualified for the Athens Games by winning second place at the

1st AIBA Asian 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 1st AIBA Asian 2004 Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held in Guangzhou, PR China from March 18 to March 23, 2004. It was the first chance for amateur boxers from Asia to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics after the 2004 Asian Amateur ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, China. In the first round he lost to Uzbekistan's Tulashboy Doniyorov. At the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, he lost in the first round to

Jerome Thomas Jerome William Thomas (born 23 March 1983) is an English former footballer who is now head of academy recruitment at club Watford. During his playing carer he played predominantly as a left-winger and scored 25 goals in 292 league and cup appe ...

. In 2005 Kumar won the gold medal at the 4th Commonwealth Federation Boxing Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He defeated Bongani Mahalangu of South Africa by a narrow margin of 18-17 in the 54 kg final.

2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games

In the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

he won the gold medal in the Bantamweight 54 kg category by edging out Nigerian

Nestor Bolum Nestor Bolum (born 19 September 1986) is a Nigerian professional boxer. As an amateur, he participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics for his native West African country. Career In 2003 southpaw Bolum who works for the Nigerian Air Force w ...

and defeating Mauritian

Bruno Julie Louis Richard Bruno Julie (born July 11, 1978), known as Bruno Julie, is a Mauritian bantamweight boxer who won a number of medals in international tournaments and competed in the 2008 Olympics when he won the first-ever Olympic medal for the isl ...

in the final. He landed six unanswered blows in the opening round of the final. The second round was quite even, with Kumar winning 5-4. He did slightly better in round 3, winning it 6-4, and despite losing the final round 3-4, succeeded in avoiding the single punch that might have cost him the tie.

2008 Beijing Olympics and AIBA World Cup

Kumar qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, beating among others the silver medallist from the 2004 Summer Olympics,

Worapoj Petchkoom Worapoj Petchkoom ( th, วรพจน์ เพชรขุ้ม; ; born May 18, 1981) is a Thai boxer who competed in the bantamweight (54 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal losing to Cuban superstar Guillermo Rigo ...

, at the Asian boxing qualifying tournament in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. At the Olympic event, he made his way to the second round in the Bantamweight 54 kg category beating Frenchman

Ali Hallab Ali Hallab (born 4 April 1981 in Mantes-la-Jolie, Yvelines) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2013, holding the WBO European super bantamweight title from 2012 to 2013. As an amateur, he won the bronze medal at the ...

on points 12-5. In the round of 16, he beat World Champion

Sergey Vodopyanov Sergey Vodopyanov (russian: Серге́й Водопьянов) (born 20 September 1987 in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan) is a Russian amateur boxer best known for winning gold in the bantamweight class at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships. ...

, coming from 2-6 down in the second round of the bout. The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the fourth round but the judges decided in Kumar's favor because he landed a greater number of punches. He lost 3-10 to

Veaceslav Gojan Veaceslav Gojan (born 18 May 1983) is a Moldovan amateur boxer who won Bantamweight bronze at the 2008 Olympics. He comes from the village of Grimăncăuţi, district of Briceni (north of Moldova) and is a member of the Central Sport Club Dinamo ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

in the quarter finals on 18 August 2008. He was coached by the Indian boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu. In the AIBA World Cup 2008 held in Moscow, Kumar beat Marcel Schinder of Germany in the quarterfinals with a margin of 15-6. In the semifinals the final score was a tie, 4-4, but this time, the judges awarded the match to his opponent. Kumar won a bronze.

2012 London Olympics

Akhil Kumar was ruled out of the 2012 London Olympics; due to an injury he failed to reduce weight in time to take part in the Asian Continental Olympic qualification tournament, to be held in Astana (

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

) in April 2012.

Awards

Kumar received the

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 2005.

References

External links

* * * *
One good 'punch' can change boxers' life: Akhil Kumar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Akhil 1981 births Living people Indian male boxers Bantamweight boxers Olympic boxers of India Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Boxers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Asian Games competitors for India Boxers at the 2006 Asian Games Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award People from Bhiwani Boxers from Haryana People from Rohtak