Vijender, the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal, said he will return the country’s highest sporting honour if the union government failed to meet the demands of the farmers. “I owe a lot to Punjab. I spent maximum of time during my boxing career at National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala, so now its my time to pay back to the state,” says Vijender Singh, who joined the farmers’ protest at Singhu border in Sonepat on Sunday. “I totally support the farmers’ demands and the entire country should support them because they are the lifeline of the country. Without them we can’t live for a day.”
Vijender got the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009 for winning bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I got the award for making the country proud at the international arena, but the way the government is dealing with the farmers is unacceptable. So, in protest I will return the award and all other benefits that I got along with the award,” said Vijender.“Hope the government listens to the farmers’ demands and resolve the issue soon, otherwise this protest will turnout to be a nation-wide agitation. I appeal to all the sportspersons to contribute in this revolution, in this fight for the farmers’ rights. “Five former sporting greats from Punjab also joined the protest at Singhu border on Sunday.
Earlier, Vijender had also slammed Kangana after the actress launched a scathing attack on Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh. Taking to Twitter, Indian boxer Vijender extended his support to Diljit by retweeting one of his tweets on the microblogging site. The 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze-medallist also gave Kangana an honourable mention in his tweet. Taking cognisance of Vijender's tweet on Thursday, the Queen actress called out the Indian boxer as the duo engaged in a war of words on the microblogging site. Engaging in a verbal spat with Vijender on Twitter, the actress even asked the Indian boxer about forming Shiv Sena. Vijender initiated a swift reply and said that there is no need to form another political party. Prior to Vijender's fiery exchange with Kangana on social media, the Indian boxer had questioned Bollywood's silence on the ongoing nationwide farmers' protest.