New Delhi: Indian boxer Manish Kaushik vowed to improve his performance after he was forced to settle for a bronze medal at the World Boxing Championships in Russia.
"World Championship went well for me. I fought with various opponents. I am happy that I won a medal in my first World Championship. I have also got a lot of confidence due to which I will perform well in the next competitions," Kaushik said on Monday.
"I lost against Cuba's number one boxer but I fought well. There were some things lacking and I will discuss with my coaches and improve for my next competitions. I will discuss what else I should do so that my performance gets better," he added.
Kaushik won a bronze medal after losing to reigning world champion Andy Cruz Gomez of Cuba by 0-5 in the semi-final.
He is also aiming to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"There are many hopes regarding the Olympics. It is every athlete's dream. It is my dream as well. If I did not compete at the Olympics, then there will be something missing from my career," said Kaushik.
Indian boxing team coach Santiago Nieva expressed his happiness with the country's boxers, saying that it was their 'best performance ever'.
"I think results speak for themselves. One silver medal which is the first time ever and one bronze medal. For the first time, we reached the final and we were the top six teams in the medal table. So, obviously this was our best performance ever," said Nieva.
Nieva also praised Amit Panghal, who became the first Indian boxer to win a silver medal in the World Boxing Championships.
"It is joy and privilege to work with such a boxer who continuously proves that he belongs to this level and we had high expectations ... We lost in the final, very close bout but I think on any given day, Amit can win such a bout," he said.
