Vijender weds Delhi girl Archana

Indian boxing ace Vijender Singh married Delhi girl Archana Singh in a low-key ceremony in Delhi on Tuesday.

The marriage, solemnised at the Delhi Flying Club, was attended by family and friends of the 25-year-old boxer, India's first Olympic and World Championships medallist. He claimed bronze medals in both these meets.

The couple will host a reception at Vijender's native village Kaluwas in Bhiwani on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain, former Union Minister Captain Satish Sharma, Indian Boxing Federation chief Abhay Singh Chautala and national boxing coach G S Sandhu were among the prominent guests at the wedding ceremony, which lasted a couple of hours, after which the couple and their families drove off to Bhiwani.

Gandhi, a friend of the boxer and an avid boxing fan himself, stayed at the venue for about ten minutes and wished the newly-wed couple.

Vijender wore a cream sherwani for the occasion while his software engineer bride was dressed in a red sari, designed by Tarun Tahiliani. Archana hails from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, and works with the British High Commission in Delhi.

"A new chapter of my life starts today and I hope it would be as successful as my boxing career. But I have very little time for prolonged celebrations as I would be heading to Cuba for a training tour later this month. The Asian Championships are also coming up next month, so it's back to training pretty soon for me," Vijender said after tying the knot.

Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Jai Bhagwan and Commonwealth Championships gold medallist Dinesh Kumar were among other boxers who attended the ceremony.

The rest of the guest list mainly comprised local Haryana politicians and close family friends.

Vijender, who returned to the country a couple of days back after winning a bronze at the Arafura Games in Australia, had reportedly been dating the girl for the past four years.