I want three golds in three years: Akash

Akash Kumar 21 recently became only the seventh Indian boxer to win a medal at the AIBA World Championships when he won bronze in the 54kg category in Belgrade SerbiaThe previous six are all big namesmdashAmit Panghal silver 2019 Manish Kaushik bronze 2019 Gaurav Bhiduri bronze 2017 Shiva Thapa bronze 2015 Vikas Krishan bronze 2011 Vijender Singh bronze 2009 However Akash refuses to get carried away by his achievementAkash Kumar on his arrival from Serbia at Mumbai airport recentlyldquoThis was not just my first World Championship but also my first ever senior competition at the international level So itrsquos only my first step in boxing I have a long way to go and I donrsquot think I have achieved anything yetrdquo he tells midday from his home in Paluwas in Haryanarsquos Bhiwani districtTime constraintldquoA big achievement will be the Olympic gold which I want to win at the 2024 Paris Olympics There are only three years to go so there is very little time left to train and compete My target is three gold medals in three years First I want to be the Commonwealth champion 2022 Commonwealth Games is in Birmingham UK from July 28 to August 8 Then I want to be Asian champion 2022 Asian Games is in Hangzhou China from September 10 to 25 And finally my aim is Olympic goldrdquo adds Akash an army boxer who battled personal tragedy en route to his national title last monthHis mother Santoshi Devi passed away after a prolonged lung ailment but it was her last wish that her son should not be informed about her death as that would distract him from his boxingldquoShe had been ill for the last few years but she was getting better this year In fact I spoke to her to just two days before she passed away when I was leaving from ASI Army Sports Institute Pune for Bellary for the Nationals The next day the coaches took away our phones so we had no contact with the outside worldrdquoMumrsquos last wishldquoHowever when she passed away she left a message with my family members not to let the news reach me I came to know only after I won the National title which was many days later They say that mothers are always right and she was spoton right up to her last breath because had I known she was serious I would have left everything and returned to her I wouldnrsquot have been able to win the national title and without that I wouldnrsquot be able to compete at the World Championshiprdquo explained AkashComing back to his World Championship medal Akash said he won it on pure grit ldquoI went into the competition with a strong mindset I entered every round with confidence and aggression Itrsquos this attitude that helped me beat someone like Yoel Finol Rivas of Venezuela 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist in the quarterfinals I was lacking in just one department and that is experience and thatrsquos what went against me in the semis against Kazhakhstanrsquos Mahmud Sabyrkhan So in these three years I want to pick up as much experience as I can to ensure there are no shortcomings in Parisrdquo he signed off