“It was the summer of 1990 and I had reached till the finals of national boxing championship being held in Jabalpur, a city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. My opponent was a pugilist from Punjab.I was in red and he was in blue.He was defending champion where as it was my first nationals.We both occupied the two opposite corners of the ring.The opponent not only had a good built but also had a very good height.Good height means he had better reach to my body parts than I had to his body parts.The whistle blows and the first round started. He started with a shower of punches on my body parts.But defense was my strength.I kept on protecting myself with my fists tightly covering my face and quick foot movements to escape the blows delivered by the opponent.

We both tried to get hold of each other. Punches and counter punches were delivered and finally my opponent delivered a nasty blow on my waist. The blow shakes me up. For some time, I just tried to defend myself in order to prevent myself from losing any further points in the first round.The round got over and my opponent leads the first round.In the break, I went to the corner and my coach told me to keep on defending as the other opponent is a national champion.So, he said even silver is good considering it is your first national. The pain in my waist was excruciating.I just closed my eyes and suddenly, I could recall the words which my wife had once said.She said I have married a gold and I can’t see you settle at anything less than the gold.I could feel the immense power within me.Eyes focused and I felt geared up for the second round.

The second round starts.Now, I am not only defending myself but also trying to hit punches especially on the ribs of my opponent.The opponent maintains an aggressive stance.Unable to break my defense, the opponent was now getting frustrated.He then used his most dangerous weapon.It is the hook with full body weight behind it. A hook is a punch that comes from the side and if it hits any part of the body , the game is likely to end then and there.The hook comes and I am able to bend down so that the hook misses its target.But there is so much body weight behind the hook , that my opponent is clearly out of balance and goes out of the ring through the gap between upper and middle rope of the ring.Now the defending national champion is not only offended but he is injured too. The second round ends leaving the scars on the body of defending champion.The defending champion,however, was still leading the bout by one point.

Then came the last round.Now we both were fully aggressive and constantly tried to undercut each other. He delivered a shower of punches on my face and I replied with a punch in his ribs.Both were now looking to break each other’s defense.The game was becoming damn serious.Only thirty seconds were left for the end of game.The opponents delivered a nasty blow from the left side.The dark red blood now decorated my lips.I howled and gave him a strong counter punch in the stomach.Now, he tried to protect his abdomen and I delivered a nasty blow on his face.His hands now moved to his face to protect it and I gave a final shot on his ribs.The opponent now crumbled to the ground. Whistle blows and my arrival at national stage was also trumpeted.Thunder of applause swayed the stadium and I could feel the immense peace within me.It was no less than the comfort which two lovers get when they meet after long separation.”,narrates the coach while having an innocent smile on his face.

The friend of the coach says,”This is the best breakfast I could have”.The coach smiles,”So, now I should stop because our breakfast is over”.The friend of the coach says,”No, No I want to hear the complete story, the coffee is still left and your story too is very interesting.” The coach now gets serious and says,”Then order a strong coffee because it is now that the real game starts”.The friend calls the waiter and says,”Two strong coffee and repeat the order every time you find both of us tense”.

The Real game will start in ‘The Boxing Ring : Bout Three’