Bhiwani Boxing Club, a dream fades
Gaurav Kanthwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 24
Eight years after shooting into the limelight for producing the first Olympics medallist in boxing for India, the hallowed Bhiwani Boxing Club (BBC) has lost its aura. BBC — only the name remains as the club fights a losing battle against oblivion.
Once a goldmine of medals in national and international competitions, the academy has not produced a male boxer good enough to fight in the Nationals for the second year running, let alone anyone good enough to win a medal. The club had no representation in the recently-concluded Nationals in Guwahati. In 2013, BBC was banned from taking part in the state championships as the club officials had allegedly vandalised the venue during the meet.
In the National Championships, BBC’s boxers used to win medals in heaps but the last time (2014) they showed up on the podium, they had to be content with a trickle (one gold in 69kg, and a bronze in 60kg category). The club’s reputation in Bhiwani is no longer that of an elite men’s boxing club — it is now known more for producing national level women boxers.
“There is no shame in accepting the truth. I have no hesitation in admitting that Bhiwani Boxing Club has lost its aura,” said Jagdish Singh, the club’s chief architect, who is a Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach.
“We haven’t been able to send male boxers for the National Championships for the last two years. It’s sad but true. Once I retire from my government job, I will re-establish it,” he said, but added that it might not be possible before 2020.
Focus on women
Conservative estimates put the number of boxers training at Bhiwani close to 1,000. BBC has 80 male and 22 women boxers enrolled with it — merely ten percent of the town’s boxing fraternity.
The coach admits that talent is still there but the punch is missing. The famed academy began to crumble after Jagdish Singh was transferred from Bhiwani to Alwar in 2014. A year later, he was earmarked to train women boxers at the country’s first National Boxing Academy in Rohtak.
His departure took a toll on BBC, and thus began the downfall of men’s boxing in the academy. However, in the women’s Nationals, BBC has done well this year, bagging three gold, one silver and one bronze.
BBC being a one-man show may be the primary reason behind its sudden decline, but there are secondary reasons as well. One is the lack of government or institutional support for BBC. “We have never asked for help from anybody. There has been no government, state or centre support in running the club,” said a club official. “Apart from Sahara India’s one-time payment of Rs 40 lakh, no one has given us anything. We haven’t been able to upgrade infrastructure to the desired level.”
A plethora of boxing academies coming up in a small town such as Bhiwani also had an impact on BBC. Also, none of the established names from the club have come back to support its trainees. So, in the near future, it’s futile to hope for another Vijender Singh to emerge from BBC and win an Olympics medal.
