Eight years ago, he scripted history by opening the country's account in amateur boxing's marquee event and Vijender Singh feels India might just go one better during the 19th World Championship, starting August 25 in Hamburg.
The 31-year-old had fetched a bronze medal at the 15th World Championship in Milan, just over a year after becoming India's first Olympic medallist in boxing -- a bronze-winner at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The nation has a bronze each to show for in the 2009, 2011 and 2015 World Championships -- the other two bronze- medallists, apart from Vijender, being Vikas Krishan (2011) and Shiva Thapa (2015).
Both Vikas (75kg) and Shiva (60kg) are part of the eight-member team, which has already reached Hamburg after qualifying for the event through the Asian Championships earlier this year.
The others in the team are Amit Phangal (49kg), Kavinder Bisht (52kg), Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg), Manoj Kumar (69kg), Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg).
A fair share of amateur history to his credit, Vijender turned professional in 2015 and has two titles to flaunt in an unbeaten run so far.
Vijender recalled how he sought solitude during both the Olympics and the World Championship.
A former world No.1 in middleweight amateur rankings, Vijender refused to pick favourites but did single out Thapa for praise.
"He has progressed tremendously and seems to be a very sorted boxer. I have been impressed by his growth," said the Haryana star about the 24-year-old, who is the first Indian to claim three back-to-back Asian Championship medals.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)