Getting started He trained at the
Bhiwani Boxing Club, where former national-level boxer and trainer
Jagdish Singh recognised his talent. The first recognition for Vijender came when he won a bout in the state level competition. Vijender won a silver medal in his first sub-junior nationals in 1997 and went on to bag his first gold medal at the 2000 Nationals. He decided to move up in weight and Vijender took part in the
middleweight (75 kg) division at the
2006 Asian Games in Doha, where he won the bronze medal in a lost semifinal bout against Kazakhstan's
Bakhtiyar Artayev with the final score of 24–29. Initially Vijender was not supposed to compete because of a back injury, but he recovered in time to win the tournament and qualify for the
2008 Beijing Olympics. Among his preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a period spent early in that year when he trained with German boxers in their own country. This training incorporated a tournament involving boxers from around Europe, in one event of which Singh won gold having beaten a German in the process. Talking about his preparation for the Beijing Olympics, Vijender said: "I did not do well the last time because then I was young and did not have the experience. I have just made it to the senior level and qualified for the Olympics. Now I have the experience. I have won medals at major tournaments like the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Recently, I also beat the 2004 Olympic Games gold medallist [Bakhtiyar] Artayev [in the AIBA President's Cup], so I have done quite well at the international level. So, definitely, everyone can expect a good showing from me in Beijing." At the
2008 Summer Olympics, he defeated
Badou Jack of The Gambia 13–2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, he defeated
Angkhan Chomphuphuang of Thailand 13–3 to reach the
Middleweight Boxing Quarterfinals. He beat southpaw
Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 9–4 in the quarterfinals on 20 August 2008 which guaranteed him a medal, the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer. He lost 5–8 to Cuba's
Emilio Correa in the semi-finals on 22 August 2008 and shared a bronze medal. Vijender and wrestler
Sushil Kumar—who won a bronze at the men's wrestling competitions—were welcomed grandly to India after their victory. In July 2009, Vijender accompanied by Sushil and boxer
Mary Kom were garlanded with the
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award—India's highest sporting honour. It was the first time that three sportspeople were picked for the award; the award selection committee decided to grant the award to all of them, taking into consideration their performance for the cycle of 2008–09. Kom and Vijender were the first boxers to get the award which carried prize money of
Rs 750,000 and a
citation. Both Sushil and Vijender were recommended to the
Padma Shri awards committee, by the Indian Sports and Home Ministries; however, they were denied the awards after recommendations were not fruitful by the Padma Awards Committee for 2009 winners. The denial of Padma Shri for them created a furore among masses with allegations of promoting only a few sports. Vijender later took up a job with the
Haryana Police department which paid him Rs 14,000 per month. Vijender participated at the
2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships. He was beaten by
Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in the semi-final of the 75 kg Middleweight category, by 7 points to 3 and was thus awarded the bronze medal. Vijender won the first round of the bout 1–0, only for Atoev to run rampant in the second, landing five unanswered blows. The third round was evenly contested with both fighters scoring on a couple of occasions, but Vijender had already lost the match. In September 2009, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced Vijender as the top-ranked boxer in its annual middle-weight (75 kg) category list. He topped the list with 2800 points.
2010–14: Padma Shri, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games presenting the
Arjuna Award to Vijender Singh in 2006 In January 2010, Vijender was awarded the
Padma Shri for outstanding contribution to Indian sports. Later, he participated in the invitational Champions of Champions boxing tournament in China, and won a silver medal, losing 0–6 to Zhang Jin Ting in the 75 kg middleweight final. At the 2010 Commonwealth Boxing Championship held in New Delhi 18 March 2010, he along with five other fellow Indians won gold medal. Vijender defeated England's
Frank Buglioni 13–3. At the
2010 Commonwealth Games, Vijender Singh was beaten by England's
Anthony Ogogo in the semi-finals. Leading 3–0 on points going into the final round, Singh was twice given a two-point penalty by Canadian referee Michael Summers, the second for coming just 20 seconds before the end of the bout, leading Ogogo to win by 4 points to 3. The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) launched an unsuccessful appeal, leaving Singh with a bronze medal. IBF Secretary General P K Muralidharan Raja said, "The jury reviewed the bout and came to the conclusion that Vijender was holding his opponent and the referee was right in warning him. When the Indian team pointed out that even Ogogo was holding Vijender, the jury felt it was not the case." Singh lashed out saying that the penalties were "harsh and unfair. The warnings were unfair and harsh. If the referee thought I was holding Ogogo then he should have penalised this guy as well. He was also holding me. It's a joke that somebody has won by scoring points just out of warnings." One month later, in November, he won the
2010 Asian Games shutting out Uzbek two time world champion
Abbos Atoev 7:0 in the final. At the
2012 Summer Olympics, he beat Danabek Suzhanov of Kazakhstan 14–10 in the first round of men's middle-weight 75 kg category Boxing event, to advance to the round of 16 of the games. He then edged out American
Terrell Gausha 16–15 to win the pre-quarter finals bout. He lost to
Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in quarter final with a score of 13–17. In the
2014 Commonwealth Games, Singh claimed the silver medal after being defeated in the final by England's
Antony Fowler by 1:2 decision. ==Professional career==