From being a formidable boxer with an impressive CV of winning the bronze at the World Boxing Championships in 2017, the 2nd Indian to win on his debut and the 4th overall, to being a motivational speaker and vlogger, Gaurav Bidhuri is a man of many talents. Winner of the Boxing Award of the Year in 2018, he has been nominated for the Arjuna Award for three consecutive years between 2018 to 2020 and became the only Indian boxer to have featured with the Italy team in 2015 and the USA team in 2016. The word impressive doesn’t come close to defining this career so far.

In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, Indian boxer Gaurav Bidhuri speaks about how it all began and taking up boxing professionally, his ultimate goal, overcoming challenges, boxing idols and the importance of mental resilience.

Q 1) How old were you when you first started boxing? Who introduced you to the sport and what motivated you to take it up professionally?

I started boxing when I was 7 years old. My father, Dharmender Bidhuri was a national level boxer and also my coach. It was his dream to represent India at the Olympics and win medals, but due to family problems he could not continue his boxing career. Despite that, his love for boxing couldn’t keep him away from the sport and he started a boxing club where he used to train local people for free!! That’s where I started my boxing career, at the Bidhuri Boxing club. My father’s dream is my dream and I would like to win medals at the Olympics to fulfill his ambitions as well as mine.

Q 2) What are the various tournaments that you have participated in so far and what is your ultimate goal?

The first competition that I won was the Junior Delhi State Boxing Championship in 2004. That’s how my journey began and soon I won many more State and National Championships. My first International competition was the Junior World Boxing Championship in 2008 and brought laurels for our country and many Junior and Senior International competitions. Today I’m a world medallist and my aim is to win a medal for India at the Olympics.

Q 3) What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your journey so far? How did you overcome injuries with a positive mindset?

From the perspective of others, I’m a world medallist and have created history, but just like any other sportsman, I have endured hard times and faced criticism. When I started boxing, everyone was against it and my family members would accuse my dad of spoiling my life. My dad ignored their comments and kept training me and it is because of his hardships that I reached the state levels. After that, I worked hard to become the champion in my first sub junior Delhi State Championship. We had trials for the National Championship the very next day and I got selected after defeating everyone. We were about to leave for Bhilai the next morning but that night, the people at the Federation replaced my name with another boxer. Nobody helped us when we looked for help but that’s when the real journey began.

I played many National Championships later and won the gold medal and represented India at the Junior International event. I lost in the quarterfinals and could not get a medal because of which people back home criticized me for not performing at the international level. However, I didn’t give up, remained patient, believed that my time would come and beat some of the best boxers at the World Championships to win the bronze medal.

Also read: International Boxing Association increases bout reviews per team to 3, no fee to be charged either

Q 4) Who were some of your boxing idols growing up and why?

My idols when I started boxing were Mary Kom Didi and Vijender bhai (Vijender Singh). The latter has really inspired me as he has achieved medals for India at the biggest events and has also been involved with modelling, acting etc. Athletes disappear after achieving so much after they leave sports, which is why I’m involved in motivational speaking, guest appearances, modelling, being involved in media and so on. I hope to act in movies in the coming years.

Q 5) How important of a role does mental resilience play in becoming a successful boxer?

We have learnt the importance of the body and mental strength during the pandemic. Those who are weak mentally have suffered at this time and being a sports person, I have to be strong both physically and mentally. An athlete's life is full of ups and downs but it’s important to overcome them and keep moving forward. I have faced a lot of things in my boxing career and I use that experience as a motivational speaker.