Sandhu thanks 'face of Indian boxing' Vijender

"I am thankful to Vijender. He worked very hard. He is the face of Indian boxing and is a great motivator. His contribution to Indian boxing is immense," said an emotional Sandhu after returning from the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Kazakhstan today.

Vijender (75kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) booked their London berths at the event, joining four others -- L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) -- in an unprecedented seven-strong Olympic squad.

At a ceremony to felicitate the recently-qualified trio of Shiva, Vijender and Sumit, Sandhu recalled the bout in which Beijing Olympics bronze-medallist Vijender made the cut for London, where he would make his third successive appearance at the quadrennial extravaganza.

"That moment is difficult to relive. He was down a couple of points in the opening round. During the break I told him that, he just got up and said 'sir, I am not going to leave him now'. And he did just that in the next two rounds," said Sandhu.