Vijender Kumar

CLOSE friends, relatives, most of a village and hundreds of fans welcomed boxer Vijender Kumar, wrestler Sushil Kumar and other members of the Indian contingent back home on Monday night.

Loud cheers, garlands, eager fans and policemen surrounding them — this was the scene at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. It seemed that almost everyone from Najafgarh and Bhiwani (in Haryana) had gathered there to receive Sushil and Vijender.

As the winners stepped out, the fans started playing the dholak, bursting crackers and showering flower petals on them. As the heroes made their way toward the cars waiting for them, it became increasingly difficult for the police to manage the crowd, with people jumping over the barricades to congratulate the winners.

Wearing that bronzed look — and the medal — proudly, Vijender was taken aback by the reception. “It’s unbelievable — the way people gathered at the airport to receive us. I finally feel like a star. It’s great to be back home and I’m happy to meet my father, who’s come all the way from Bhiwani to receive me. But I’m tired and hope to get some time to relax and be with my family,” he said.

Tiring it was, certainly, but the Beijing Olympics and his stay at the village there was also an emotional experience for Vijender, and for more reasons than the medal. “I enjoyed every minute of the Olympic games. My heart broke when I was leaving the Olympic village — I made a lot of friends there and I’m going to miss them a lot,” he said, adding, “One of my special friends gifted me a green friendship band, which I wore on my right hand before I left for the Beijing airport.” Of course, that’s not the only gift in store for him, his friends Rampal and Bunty, who came all the way from Punjab, have gifted him a car! “I’m so glad to see my friends. I was surprised when they told me that they’ve gifted me a car. I’ve decided to take all my friends out in it and will have a big party soon,” he grinned. Being quite easy on the eye, all the focus is going to be on him for a while, but Vijender says that sports other than cricket will benefit from the attention. “I’m sure that after winning this medal, boxing will soon become one of the most popular sports in India,” he said.