Glamour punch

Vijender Singh, the chocolate boy of Indian boxing, recently signed a movie Patiala Express. But the stardust has not blinded this Olympic medallist, as his focus remains very much on winning the game, writes M. S. Unnikrishnan

Vijender Singh packs the kind of glamour no other Indian boxer could ever dream of. Boxing was always considered as a rough and tough sport where brute force ruled the roost. No wonder, boxing was mostly the domain of rough hands from the Services and the Police.

But Vijender Singh, with one single stroke, after winning the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, changed the dynamics of the sport for forever. It was another big shot in the arm to the sport when he annexed a World Championship bronze in Milan in September last year.

Now, boxers are no longer the "bad boys" as the chiselled features and drop-dead good looks of Vijender Singh have opened up enormous marketing possibilities not only for him but for the game as well. Vijender Singh’s schedule is now chock-a-block with film offers, television shows, ramp walks, endorsement shoots, promotional events...the works.

He has recently signed a deal with Percept to act in a movie Patiala Express after the 2010 Commonwealth and Asian Games. The movie is inspired by Rocky, Hollywood blockbuster starring Sylvester Stallone.

Vijender’s role in Patiala Express, with his limited histrionic talent, is to be himself though he may have to enrol for an acting course to prepare for a film career. The film will also feature other boxers like Jai Bhagwan, Dinesh Kumar and Amandeep Singh. Though the world of boxing had been lucky to have colourful, handsome personalities like Mohammad Ali, Norton and Theofilo Stevenson (the iconic Cuban, who preferred to remain an amateur boxer, happy to win many Olympic medals than turn pro), it was the Beniwal from Bhiwani, who gave a new identity to the Indian boxing.

Yet, he has not lost focus on his primary objective — winning medals in boxing. He goes for film shoots and endorsements only after taking sanction from the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF). "He’s an intelligent boxer, very focussed. He has got his priorities right," notes national coach G. S. Sandhu.

Vijender had been training with 36 other boxers at Patiala in preparation for forthcoming events, the Commonwealth and the Asian Games, says the national coach. "Vijender never sacrifices his training for other events. He knows how to manage his boxing and other activities intelligently," adds Sandhu.

According to Sandhu, it is remarkable that Vijender has been holding on to his No 1 position in middleweight (75kg) in the International Boxing Federation ranking for the past one and a half years.

But success and fame have not turned the head of this small-town boy from Haryana though the same cannot be said of our "celebrity" cricketers for whom the perks have become more important than the game.

Ostensibly, fatigue was given as the main reason by the BCCI for the failure of the Indian team to make it to the Super League in the Twenty20 World Championship in the West Indies recently. But captain M. S. Dhoni squarely put the blame on excessive cricket and after-game IPLparties for the poor performance of the players in the T20 World Cup, though he forgot to add that almost all World Cup teams had players who were part of the IPL circus.

To add to Dhoni’s woes, he also missed his B.Com final exams for the second year in running. Dhoni, who is pursuing distance learning from a Ranchi college, had also missed his B.Com (first year) final exams last year, as it had clashed with the World Cup.

In contrast is wrestler Sushil Kumar, whose bronze medal victory had put wrestling on a pedestal, as had Vijender’s success done to boxing. And like the boxer, Sushil, too, is still rooted to the ground. On April 26, which is also his birthday, Sushil Kumar, instead of partying, was appearing for an exam for his Masters in Physical Training. This Olympic bronze medallist still trains diligently at the Chattrasal Stadium akhara and stays at the same cramped dormitory where he slept before he became an Olympic champion.

Though Sushil is yet to attract the kind of sponsorship and other deals that are being offered to Vijender Singh, the wrestling champion is much sought-after in socially-relevant issues like environment protection, ‘Green Delhi’ campaign etc.

But for both these down-to-earth boys their sport still takes priority as is evident from the fact that both won gold medals in the recent Commonwealth Boxing and Wrestling Championships, respectively, which were also the test events for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Vijender’s success has also encouraged droves of young boys to enrol in boxing academies, particularly in Haryana, as the state now has a profusion of boxing clubs.

"Boxing has now got a pan-Indian appeal as a large number of young boys are taking to the sport all over the country," says former national coach and Dronacharya Award winner Om Prakash Bhardwaj. Bharadwaj says Vijender was lucky that his good looks had helped him attract sponsors by the dozens, making him a millionaire overnight. The boxer now endorses high-end companies like Bajaj Allianz, Sahara, Pepse, Percept, Nike etc.

Not just Vijender but Rahul Gandhi’s recent foray into the game has also helped elevate its image, says Bharadwaj, who taught boxing to Rahul Gandhi for three months. A few years ago, boxing was banned in Delhi schools as it was considered "too dangerous a sport" for young boys.

But the IABF, making full use of the help extended by the Union Sports Ministry, has spared no effort in popularising boxing in the country. The government has been liberally extending financial support for the promotion of boxing by holding round-the-year camps for all age groups, as well women boxers. There is also periodic foreign exposure of the talented players, though not all are treated equally.

A case in point is that of four times women’s world champion M. C. Mary Kom, whose fifth Asian Championship gold recently virtually went unnoticed. As Bharadwaj points out, not every boxer is as lucky as Vijender to rake in the rewards, both in cash and kind, though Mary Kom was lucky to share the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award with Vijender and Sushil last year. Some small mercies indeed for the less fortunate ones!