Only gold counts

World Youth Boxing champ Nanao Singh discloses how his girlfriend Anjana pushed him hard to go after the yellow metal

Suhrid Barua, November 8, 2008

Family inspiration or blessings count a lot in pursuit of success. But there was a different kind of driving 'force' behind Thokchom Nanao Singh's gold triumph in the recently-concluded World Youth Boxing Championships in Mexico.A product of the city's Army Sports Institute (ASI), Nanao was a touch sheepish about disclosing his secret success mantra, but when prodded relentlessly he gave in.Nanao opened up about how his girlfriend Anjana served as a huge motivation factor for his Mexico glory. "Anjana (she's a computer student back home) used to tell me that I have to go for the gold medal in the World Championship. She didn't want me to get complacent after my gold winning effort at the Commonwealth Youth Games. She kept telling me that nobody cares in India if you win silver or bronze," reveals the fleet-boxer who pocketed the yellow metal in the 48-kg category.

Nanao met Anjana through common friends a-year-and-half back in hometown Bishnupur while he went out for an outing with his friends. "I met her through some of my close friends. I was bit shy at that time but gradually we hit it off well. We are good friends and that's important," he says.So obviously marriage is the logical destination of their relationship. "Definitely not in the immediate future. I'm only 18. I've a lot of things to achieve in the boxing ring. My beau (Anjana) wants me to box with consistency and get an Olympic gold in the 2012 Games. She wants me to achieve that. To be frank I only see myself getting hitched in another eight or nine years from now," quipped Nanao who countered stiff competition at the World Championship compared to the CYG where he was hardly stretched.

"I really didn't have to dig deep as my opponents hardly posed a threat. But at the World Championship in Mexico, it was tough going from bout one," explains the Manipuri lad who is getting used to the new-found experience of signing autographs. "It was certainly a new thing for me when I had to sign autographs for hordes of spectators after I won the CYG gold in front of my home crowd. It was a humbling experience, I must say," he added.