Lack of regular domestic events, a bane to present day pugilists

By M.C. Raman

CHENNAI, JULY 10. Indian boxing, which scripted a new chapter when Zoram Thanga won the bronze medal in the World Cup hosted by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) in Mumbai in 1990, seems to have reached a plateau. After the biggest boxing show India has ever witnessed, there were some sterling deeds. But the momentum seems to have slowed down now.

The next best achievement after Thanga's was Venkatesh Devarajan's bronze medal effort in the seventh World Cup, held at Bangkok in 1994. But Devarajan's foray into professional boxing put paid to his amateur status. Another outstanding boxer, Dharmender Singh Yadav, too has preferred a pro career.

This does not mean India's glory in boxing started only in the early 90s. Looking back, the country can be proud of some of the most gifted pugilists who not only kept the national flag flying high in Asian-level competitions, but also did India proud in events like the Olympics in the 70s.

Names like Padam Bahadur Mal, Amaldoss, Manoharan, Machiah, Chander Narain, Munusamy Venu, Xavier, Manoj Pingle, Gopal Dewang, Killekar evoke great passion among the boxing fans who have seen two or three generations of pugilists in the country.

The premature death of former President, Adajania, has put the sport on the slow lane. His was the golden era as five Indian stars qualified for the Barcelona Olympics. India also conducted a mega event during this period and saw Cuban greats like Roberto Balado, Enrique Carrion and Juan Lumus in action. Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, who later demolished the myth of Cuban supremacy in amateur boxing, was also there.

Considering the depth of talent in India then, it was not difficult to achieve spectacular results. But the present day pugilists are not able to scale those heights owing to lack of regular domestic competitions.

Take the Federation Cup for instance. The late Tamil Nadu Secretary, Mohanakrishnan, worked hard to make it a permanent show in Chennai. The sixth edition of the championship gets underway at the Nehru Stadium multipurpose indoor facility in the city on Tuesday, but the competition has been out of the IABF calendar for some time without any valid reason. And that too when there is a serious shortage of domestic events.

These days, down south, even district-level organisers are appointing Professional Management Groups to raise sponsorship money to host big events. The duty of the Federation doesn't just end with the allotment of tournaments to bidders. It must also identify its PMG and sponsors in every zone so that whenever the State associations come forward to conduct major competitions, they can get benefited from the Federation's sponsors also. It is time the IABF becomes a more professional body.

The organisers of the Hotel Aadithya Federation Cup have allotted a budget of Rs. 10 lakhs. Any further financial help would have benefited the boxers immensely. The administrators at the Federation must think about this and do something concrete.

For the Chennai fans, who have been deprived of good boxing since 1995 when the Armed Forces Sports College, Pune, lifted the team championship, there is going to be a veritable feast.

K. Nitha Singh of Assam Rifles, Shahjada Khan, Sajid Kumar, Mohammed Tariq (all Bengal), Manoj Panwan of Delhi, Nandi Raj, Sandip, Kundan Singh, Guru Sahib Singh (all Artillery), Jagdeep Singh of Punjab, Shakti Singh, Lakminder Singh and Akil Kumar of Haryana have represented the country and are certain to add pep to the sixth Federation Cup.

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