President Pratibha Patil [Images] congratulated boxer Vijender [Images] Kumar for clinching a bronze medal at the Beijing [Images] Olympics [Images].

''I am very happy and proud that you have won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in the middleweight division of the boxing competition,'' the President said in a statement on Friday.

• Images from the semi-final bout

''Your achievement is praiseworthy not only because you have given India another medal at the Games, but also more so because you have pushed yourself to the limit in the true spirit of the Olympics, while being pitted against the best in world,'' she added.

''I wish you all the best for the future.''

Vijender is the first Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. He also became the first Indian pugilist to enter the semi-finals at the world's greatest sporting spectacle after out-punching Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the quarter-finals.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] also congratulated Vijender.

''I congratulate you on winning the bronze medal in the 75 kg category boxing event at the Olympics,'' he said.

''Your single minded devotion to excellence in your chosen field of sport has resulted in this achievement, which makes the entire nation proud,'' he added. ''I am confident that greater laurels await you in the future.''