Vijender Kumar (left) and Sushil Kumar at Purushottam Bhagchandka Academic School in Tollygunge on Monday morning. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

A schoolgirl in south Calcutta managed to catch India’s most famous boxer off-guard at a friendly free-for-all on Monday morning.

“How do you maintain such a lovely physique?” an awestruck teenager asked Vijender Kumar when he came visiting her Purushottam Bhagchandka Academic School near Karunamoyee in Tollygunge.

“I box,” mumbled the 22-year-old heart-throb, floored not by a punch but by praise.

The bronze hero who has proved to be as quick with his repartees as he was with his footwork in the Olympic ring, soon regained his composure: “It’s very important to follow your exercise schedule and to eat healthy. Then you can be both smart and fit.”

Vijender was both smart and fit — shades tucked casually into a Tommy Hilfiger shirt — as he hogged the spotlight meant to be shared with fellow Olympian Sushil Kumar.

But the 25-year-old Najafgarh wrestler seemed happy to play second fiddle to his Bhiwani mate during their first visit to Calcutta, three weeks after both struck bronze at Beijing.

The girls, and their mothers, could not stop gaping at Vijender or clicking away on their camera phones.

“Oh, he is even more good-looking in real life,” was the refrain.

Vijender and Sushil spent close to two hours in Purushottam Bhagchandka Academic School, visiting classrooms, signing autographs and answering questions.

The two fighting men, far removed from a ring and a mat, were seen gently patting the heads of kids who got up close and patiently posing for photographs.

With the spotlight for once on sporting heroes other than cricketers, the schoolchildren wanted to know how it felt to be Olympic champs.

“The medal does not belong to me but to the entire nation,” said Vijender, drawing loud cheers from the kids. “A lot of hard work has gone into it. It took the aspirations of numerous fellow boxers and the hopes of an entire nation. So the medal was won by the entire boxing fraternity of India and by all of you.”

Sushil said the efforts of his coach Satpal Singh and the strict regimen he had followed — “pushing myself to the brink” — had brought home an Olympic medal.

Shreshma Balakrishna, a student of Class VIII, asked how they would help promote their sporting disciplines now that they were in a position to make a difference.

“I would first like to win more medals for India. Gold in the London Olympics would not be a bad way to encourage quality participation in the sport and then results are bound to improve,” felt Sushil.

Stressing the virtues of a never-say-die spirit, the new Nawab of Najafgarh told the children latching on to his every syllable: “Don’t be disheartened if you have to struggle. If you have the right spirit and put in an honest effort, it’s all likely to pay off one day.”

If Sushil’s father still travels 30 km by bus to bring him food at the akhara in which he trains, Vijender sees nothing wrong in his father’s decision to continue being a bus driver. “If I make a lot of money will I give up boxing? Then why should my father give up his profession because there is money in the family now? We must all respect what we do.”

No date with this Delhi daredevil — who dabbles in modelling because he enjoys it — is complete these days without a jab at Bipasha Basu. At an evening reception, when he was asked about his promised date with the Bong beauty, Vijender said: “I haven’t had the time to meet her because of my tight schedule.... (But when it happens) I will go with roses, as girls are scared of boxing gloves.”