File photo of Kavinder Bisht
After Beijing recently boasted that India stood no chance of winning a war between the two countries, if there were to be one, national boxer Kavinder Singh Bisht, who is employed with the Indian Air Force (IAF), on Wednesday gave a cheeky response, saying Chinas "sense of humour is not good at all".
Tensions escalated manifold along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 that saw the death of 20 Indian Army personnel. According to fresh reports, India and China border tussle escalated further after fresh border confrontation erupted between the two troops again on Tuesday.
Speaking to IANS, Kavinder, who is currently training at a national camp in Patiala, said the nation is going through a difficult time because of the COVID-19 pandemic and China's "unwanted moves".
"China thinks it can do anything and get away. Time has changed and we are a powerful nation now. Their claims that India will never win against them is really funny; their sense of humour is not good at all," the IAF Junior Warrant Officer said.
"We Indians never believe in war but that doesn't mean that we are weak. We just believe in peace. China must not take Indian Armed Forces lightly. If ever the Indian Air Force wants me to come and join, I will go there leaving everything. My nation comes first for me. Being an Air Force man myself, I am ready to serve the nation at any time," he added.
Shifting his focus to boxing, the two-time World Championships quarter-finalist (57kg) said he is focusing on improving strength as part of his daily routine at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Patiala. "I am doing a lot of running. Since we can't spar right now because of COVID-19 protocols, our main focus is to do exercise and improve our strength," he said.
"Coaches had told us whether we do shadow boxing or train with punching bags, we must use all our power in every punch," Kavinder said.
Asked if Olympic postponement would benefit boxers, the 25-year-old pugilist said it will give plenty of time for everybody to train well. "Nothing is happening right now, so getting extra time is always beneficial," said Kavinder, who is yet to qualify for the 2021 Olympics.
