Vijender Kumar Singh Beniwal

Padma Shri · 2010

Vijender Singh is one of India's most successful and celebrated boxers. He won India's first Olympic boxing medal in the middleweight category with a bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He later won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and represented India at three Olympic Games.

Vijender Singh, born on 29 October 1985 in Kaluwas, Haryana, is one of India's most prominent boxers. Competing primarily in the middleweight category, he became a landmark figure in Indian boxing after winning a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Vijender represented India at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. At Beijing 2008, he won the bronze medal in the men's middleweight category, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal.
He continued his international success with a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Milan. In 2010, he won gold in the men's 75 kg category at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, defeating Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in the final.
His major achievements also include medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. He was awarded the Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian sport.
Vijender later moved into professional boxing, becoming one of India's best-known professional boxers and helping increase the popularity of boxing among Indian sports fans.

Career Highlights

2004 – Represented India at the Athens Olympic Games
2006 – Commonwealth Games Silver Medal, Melbourne
2006 – Asian Games Bronze Medal, Doha
2008 – Olympic Games Bronze Medal, Beijing
2009 – World Championships Bronze Medal, Milan
2010 – Commonwealth Boxing Championships Gold Medal
2010 – Asian Games Gold Medal, Guangzhou
2012 – Represented India at the London Olympic Games
2014 – Commonwealth Games Silver Medal, Glasgow
2009 – Reached No. 1 in the world middleweight rankings