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Vijender Singh Beniwal is an Olympic Medalist Indian boxer from Kalwas village, Bhiwani district in Haryana. He belongs to a Hindu family of Jat ethnicity. Vijenders early days were spent in his village where he did his schooling, after which he received a bachelors degree from a local college in Bhiwani. He practiced boxing at the Bhiwani Boxing Club where coach Jagdish Singh recognized his talent and encouraged him to take to professional boxing.
Vijender went on to compete at the sub-junior nationals where he won a silver medal for two years in succession. Having won medals in different competitions at the national level, Vijender was picked to train and compete at several international level competitions such as the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, he won the bronze medal after losing the semifinal bout against Kazakhstan's Bakhtiyar Artayev. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, he defeated Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 94 in the quarterfinals which guaranteed him a bronze medalthe first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer.
After this historic win, Vijender was felicitated with a number of awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardIndia's highest sporting honour. In 2009, he participated at the World Amateur Boxing Championships where he won the bronze medal. In the same year, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced Vijender as the top-ranked boxer in its annual middleweight category list with 2800 points. He is credited for bringing back the sport of boxing into the limelight in India.
Vijender went on to compete at the sub-junior nationals where he won a silver medal for two years in succession. Having won medals in different competitions at the national level, Vijender was picked to train and compete at several international level competitions such as the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, he won the bronze medal after losing the semifinal bout against Kazakhstan's Bakhtiyar Artayev. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, he defeated Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 94 in the quarterfinals which guaranteed him a bronze medalthe first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer.
After this historic win, Vijender was felicitated with a number of awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardIndia's highest sporting honour. In 2009, he participated at the World Amateur Boxing Championships where he won the bronze medal. In the same year, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced Vijender as the top-ranked boxer in its annual middleweight category list with 2800 points. He is credited for bringing back the sport of boxing into the limelight in India.
