Gurgaon:
The jinx-breaking bronze at the World Championships could have been a gold had luck not deserted him in the semifinals, said Vijender Singh, insisting that he would return with a better medal from his next international event.
"Like every athlete, I also strive for the gold medal but I didn't have the luck in the World Championship semifinals. I am sure, I would fetch a better medal than bronze the next time," the world number two Olympic bronze medallist told reporters here.
Looking back at his 3-7 semifinal defeat against Uzbek Abbos Atoev, who went on to win gold, Vijender said he lost the bout primarily in the second round when he was blanked 0-5.
"I gave my best. I fought hard but then again, didn't have the luck. The second round lead that he took turned out to be crucial," he said.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu agreed and said, "Boxing is a sport where luck is very important. The second round was crucial. The moment he was told that he is trailing, he tried to play catch up and ended up conceding two more points."
Vijender has collected three bronze medals this year, the previous two being in the European Grand Prix in Czech Republic and the Asian Championships.
"I have mixed feelings on winning a bronze at the World Championship. On one hand I am happy that I ended India's medal jinx but then I got a good opportunity to win something better and I missed it," Vijender said. Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) chief Abhay Singh Chautala felicitated the entire nine-member team that had gone to Milan, lauding their performance.
"I congratulate them for making India proud at such a big event. I am sure they will bring more success for India in the 2012 Olympics in London," he said.
Sandhu, meanwhile, said India could have got more medals at the event.
"Again, the luck factor. Suranjoy Singh (51kg), Thokchom Nanao Singh (48kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) lost by a point. Had they been a bit lucky, we would have done better," he said.
"Our boxers are as good as any of their counterparts the world over but in a sport like boxing there are lot many factors other than your fitness and form that decide which way the bout would go.
"You may get hurt in the ring as it happened in Akhil's case. You may be hitting the opponent but not getting any points for it," he added.