India is watching me, says Vijender after close win

London: India’s pin-up boxing boy Vijender Singh is in flamboyant mood at the London Games.

Soon after clinching a close 75 kg fight against Terrell Gausha of the United States at the Excel Arena on Thursday night, the Haryana lad said: "All of London is watching. All of India too. So they love me, and I love them. I feel that pressure on me always."

Vijender won his middle-weight category bout by the barest of margins (16-15), with both boxers scoring identical points in Rounds 2 (5-all) and 3 (7-all). Vijender had taken the first round 4-3.

"It was a very close fight. I just followed what my coaches said. They said 'calm down'. They said, 'if you are angry you will lose your fight', so I stayed calm and it was very close but I won the fight," Vijender said.

The Indian, who won a bronze in the Beijing Games, will take on Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev in the quarterfinals on August 6 evening. If he wins, Vijender is likely to run into second-seeded Ryota Murata of Japan in the semifinals.

On the help he got from his coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, Vijender said: “It was my ploy to keep away from Gausha and not let him score. I had to keep my cool because he was teasing me to make errors. My corner really instructed me well.”