Vikas KRISHAN

In 2011, the Haryana lad consolidated his status as a rising star of Indian boxing after winning the welterweight bronze medal at the senior world championships in Baku.

In fact, it was Ukraine’s Taras Shelestyuk – the eventual gold medallist and future 2012 London Olympic Games bronze medal winner – who halted the Indian pugilist’s incredible run in the semi-finals of the premier international tournament. It was, however, enough to earn Vikas Krishan a place for the 2012 London Olympics.

Vikas Krishan made his Olympics debut in the 69kg on August 5, 2012, and faced USA’s Errol Spence Jr. in the round of 16. In what was a close contest, Vikas Krishan edged out Spence by a 13-11.

However, the American team appealed against the outcome and the authorities overturned the results to call it 15-13 in favour of Spence five hours after the fight was over.

Following his heartbreaking exit from London 2012, Vikas Krishan took a one-year break from boxing and dedicated his attention towards completing his education from the Kurukshetra University.

The Arjuna Awardee returned to boxing swinging, securing the middleweight (75kg) bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. He continued his winning streak with a silver at the 2015 Asian Championships in Bangkok.

In June 2016, he qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after winning bronze at the Olympic qualifiers in Baku.

At Rio, Vikas Krishan overwhelmed US boxer Charles Conwell in the first round and brushed aside Turkey’s Önder Şipal in the second to cruise into the quarter-finals of the 75kg category.

The Indian, though, lost to Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev – the eventual silver medallist – to finish his campaign just one step short of an Olympic medal.

After his Rio heartbreak, Vikas Krishan returned to his winning ways by securing the 75kg bronze medal at the 2017 Asian Championships in Tashkent and followed it up with a gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

As things stand, the Indian boasts a medal in every major international competition imaginable barring the Olympics.

Vikas Krishan got his third shot at the Olympics when he booked his Tokyo 2020 berth in the 69kg category (welterweight) at the continental qualifiers in Amman, Jordan, in March 2020. Vikas thus became only the second Indian boxer since Vijender Singh to qualify for three Summer Games.

Vikas Krishan went into Tokyo 2020 in good form, having won the 2021 Asian championships bronze in Dubai. But at the Olympics, Vikas lost in the opening bout to local favourite Quincy Okazawa by unanimous decision. It was later learnt that Vikas took to the ring in Tokyo with an injured shoulder, sustained at a preparatory camp ahead of the Olympics. He underwent surgery when he returned to India.

Outside the boxing ring, Vikas Krishan holds the rank of DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) in Haryana Police.