I knew very little or nothing about the Olympics. Having qualified was itself a big achievement for me, and then being there was quite overwhelming. Although I lost in the opening round, but the fact that I fought well was enough for me to take away from Athens.

Sportspersons have to reinvent themselves every day. It helps them improve.

Jagdish Singh was my basic coach and he trained me from my very early days in boxing, teaching me the fundamentals of the sport. He was the one who shaped me into a boxer, disciplined me when I required disciplining.

I have a carbohydrate and protein-rich diet. For breakfast, I typically have two slices of bread with butter or jam, four to five eggs - boiled or fried - a few bananas and a glass of milk.

I'm a big fan of the Rocky series. Given the chance, I'd love to meet Sylvester Stallone. But apart from boxing, I'm an ardent fan of tennis and football.

As far as action is concerned, our films have been coming up with some great sequences. In fact, I think Hollywood is copying Bollywood by getting their heroes to bash up 15 guys at a time.

An incident that left an impression on me was the 1999 sub-junior national boxing championship held in Calcutta. I had trained extremely hard to get there but got kicked out in the first round itself. 'If others can win, why can't you?' I repeatedly asked myself.