My Story
Born 16 May 1993. Madanpur Khadar, New Delhi.
Where it began
Gaurav started boxing at 11 at the Bidhuri Boxing Club, opened by his father Dharmender in 1991. Dharmender was a national-level boxer whose own Olympic dream ended early, and he coaches local boys at the club free of cost.
Gaurav won gold at the Delhi State Sub-Junior Championship five years running from 2004, and was named Best Boxer in 2005. He went on to national titles, the Children of Asia Games in Russia and the 2009 AIBA World Junior Championships in Yerevan.
In 2015 and 2016 he became the first Indian to sign two successive World Series of Boxing contracts, for the Italian and the USA teams. In 2017 he earned a wild-card entry to the World Championships in Hamburg and came home with bronze.
Today he is employed with Indian Railways, speaks to young people about discipline and resilience, and is a STAIRS Foundation ambassador.