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mary kom leads a pack of india’s boxing medal contenders at the Games
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Interview: Mary Kom
Indian boxing comes of age
I am not overawed: Chanu
India sweats on Sardar, Ignace injury issues
IOC strips Cox of 2004 medal
Scott takes lead at British Open
Amla’s triple ton propels Proteas
Ferrari’s Alonso wins German GP
Reading the Games From Bhiwani to Beijing: The rise of Indian boxers It’s Els’ Open, Lahiri is 31st
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Tales of Punch-tantra
Gagan K. Teja The 2008 Beijing Olympics changed, among other things, two primary facets of Indian sports. First, how we looked at ourselves as a sporting nation, and second, how the world looked at us. There were many highlights, including the first individual gold medal at the Olympics, but the biggest impact that the Olympics left was inside the boxing ring. From Vijender Singh to Akhil Kumar, India woke up to men from dusty lanes in Haryana, who had the stomach for a fight at the highest level. And then, as Vijender bagged the first medal for an Indian boxer, a bronze, things turned around, never to be the same again.
The qualification of woman pugilist MC Mary Kom, who has already registered her name in the history of Indian sports by winning five consecutive World Boxing Championships, can only be looked on as the icing on the cake. Going back to Beijing, one cannot forget the well calculated moves of Vijender and Akhil. It seems such a long time ago, but the rush of emotions that those moments of magic brought is still fresh in the minds of the fans. Much has changed since, and new faces have emerged, and Indian boxing has gone from strength to strength. A first-ever medal in the Olympics means that the boxers now don’t train just to make the Olympics cut, but rather to win. That’s what can make the difference in London. Their performance in the past four years can be summed up in one word — splendid. They have set many milestones in these years. With four boxers qualifying from the World Boxing Championship in Baku in October 2011, it was a record of sorts as the WBC is the biggest thing in the world of amateur boxing. With Vikas Krishnan winning the bronze medal and equaling Vijender’s performance at the WBC, the morale of the players has grown manifold. As the countdown for the Games reaches its end, the boxers are busy giving final touches to years of hard work. Their coaches Gurbax Singh Sandhu and BI Fernandis, who have spent sleepless nights chalking out different strategies for them, are confident that these boxers would prove to be superior to all the opponents who come in their way. If Beijing was a start, then let’s just hope London 2012 is the moment that we all would be able to talk about 15 years later too, as the time when Indian boxing announced to the world that they are the ‘Lords of the Ring’.
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Boxing at London
Number of competitors 286 Indian Angle Devendro Singh (49kg - July 31, Aug 4, Aug 8) Shiva Thapa (56kg - July 28, Aug 1, Aug 5) Jai Bhagwan (60kg - July 29, Aug 2, Aug
6) Manoj Kumar (64kg - July 31, Aug 4, Aug 8) Vikas Krishan Yadav (69kg - July 29, Aug 3, Aug
7) Vijender Singh (75kg - July 28, Aug 2, Aug 6) Sumit Sangwan (81kg -
July 30, Aug 4, Aug 8) Semis scheduled after that India's lone woman boxer KC Mary Kom (56kg), the world No. 4, has her first bout on August 5. The quarterfinals are on August 6, followed by semifinals on August 8 and final on August 9 Format London could be similar. Boxers from Cuba, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia could dominate. At the World Champinoship last year, Ukraine won four gold and one silver. Vikas Krishan Yadav (69kg) was India's lone medallist with a bronze In the women's World Championship in May, Mary Kom lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual runners-up. China's world champion Ren Cancan is the hot favourite in Mary Kom's event titbits The two boxers in an Olympics bout are allocated a corner, red or blue, and must wear clothing of the same colour. Olympic boxers are not allowed to box past the age of 34 |
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Idon't recognize all the boxers here; there are many new names and faces. Devendro Singh is familiar. As are his fellow Manipuris, Suranjoy Singh and Nanao Singh. The giant Dinesh Kumar is difficult to miss. There's light welterweight Commonwealth Games champion Manoj Kumar. Other familiar faces under woolen caps and raised jacket collars include Jai Bhagwan and Paramjit Samota. The rest I can't identify. At least not right now. Not in the dark. Not through drooping eyelids, sleep deprived and somewhat hungry and frozen to the bone. More than the boxers themselves, I am struck by their clothes, their caps, their shoes, kitbags, water sippers. I first visited NIS Patiala in 2000 and from then down to 2008, things largely remained the same. The overall appearance of the boxers-the crème de la crème of Indian sport, remember-was somewhat shabby. No Nike or Adidas; basic locally manufactured track suits with 'India' or 'Services' or the name of the state emblazoned on the back were par for the course and kitbags were usually hand- me-downs or cheap imitations of well-known brands. Sippers? What are those? The times have certainly changed. And the man who made it happen, Vijender, is missing in action at the moment. I call him, he doesn't answer. I wait. He returns the call an hour later, apologizes, says he has a bad back but will definitely come and meet us. Not right now, but as soon as he can. The Vijender Effect is all around us though. 'Show me one boxer in Patiala who doesn't have a top quality kit,' boxing boss Abhay Singh Chautala had boasted when we met earlier. He's right. And remember, not all the boxers here are fighting in the world championships or the Olympics yet; they are just aspiring to. Only a handful are representing India in the Olympic qualifiers. The rest are all young national champions, who have been handpicked to be in Patiala for additional coaching and to be sparring partners for the Big Boys. The additional coaching is welcome, even if the lack of sleep is not. Also, the blows they have to accept while sparring are more than compensated for if they can land one of those plum overseas tours. Cuba. Azerbaijan. Thailand. Not every tournament India takes part in requires the best boxers to be in attendance. That's where the second stringers fit in, already among the best in the country, sharpened under the watchful gaze of Sandhu and his Merry Men, en route to the first of what could be many tours beyond our shores. Maybe, one day, even the Olympics. The boys here are out of a Hollywood fight club. Hoods, jumpers, boxing jackets, anoraks; swooshes and suchlike noises coming on their feet. As they walk into the hall, they could almost be Mark Wahlberg or Christian Bale going out for training in The Fighter. They don't quite have the same swagger, but then, this is real life. Real life at 6.30 a.m. in freezing Patiala. For a comparison, let's pick any two boxers a generation apart but with similar backgrounds. Let's say Manipuri-origin Services boxers Ngangim Dingko Singh and Thokchom Nanao Singh-Dingko and Nanao. Their contrasting stories should give you a good idea of how far things have moved along in Patiala since 2000. Dingko, back in 1998, won gold at the Asian Games in Bangkok. A combination of injuries, indiscipline and sheer bad luck meant that Dingko, despite being India's best boxer of the period, would never better that Asian Games performance.
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I am not overawed: Chanu
London, July 22 The 32-year-old lifter started her career as an athlete but on the advice of her coach she shifted to weightlifting. “My coach thought that I was not doing well in athletics and asked me to shift disciplines. So I opted for weightlifting and slowly but surely started liking it and that was in 1997. After that I have never looked back”. Asked about the field, she said there are 14 weightlifters in 48 kg category. Among them are two each from Thailand and Japan and one from China. “I have been doing well in the training and has almost touched 175 kg and I hope I will improve by the time my event is held on July 28, a day after the opening ceremony.” She added, “I am very confident person and will give my best, but you must remember that I am among the the 14 lifters from across the world to have qualified for the Games in this weight category, which itself is a big achievement.” Her coach Hansa Sharma exuded confidence regarding Soniya’s performance. “I am not predicting any thing but the least I can say is that she will give her best. Whether that will be enough for a podium finish, I can’t say.” At an elegant and colorful ceremony, the Indian contingent was today formally welcomed and ushered into the Olympics Games Village. Games Village Mayor Charles Allan welcomed Indian deputy Chef de Mission Brig P.K.M Raja, the sportspersons and officials to become part of the Village as the Indian tricolor was hosted while the National anthem was played. Brig Raja exchanged mementos with Charles Allan and then signed on the peace statue pledging India’s unstinted support for spreading the gospel of peace and the Olympic movement. Tennis stars Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Boppana, archer Deepika Kumari along with her two team mates, some hockey players, boxers, and officials attended the function. |
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India sweats on Sardar, Ignace injury issues
London, July 22 The team's medical staff is working overtime to help Sardar back on his feet after a crushing blow on his shin from close range. Ignace's ankle sprain nearly saw India lose the most experienced player in the squad, but after a week of limping, he stepped back on to the pitch for a training session last evening, to the delight of the fellow players. "We had a bad time with these two key players injured, but luckily they have shown good signs of recovery and should be back in good shape ahead of our first Olympic Games outing," coach Michael Nobbs told PTI. Nobbs said Sardar was unlucky to have been smacked on the leg from very close range during India's first match of the Spanish tour, after which he did not feature in any game. Ignace, on the other hand, had to sit out of three matches after spraining his ankle in a match against South Africa during the European tour before arriving in London. "These two players have a crucial role to play for India and we were obviously concerned with the injuries, but they are getting back into shape," said Nobbs. Their workout will be increased gradually as India move closer to their opening match against multiple Olympic champions The Netherlands on July 30. The team management is heaving a sigh of relief watching the recovery of the key cogs in the Indian squad. — PTI
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The International Olympic Committee executive board formally disqualified Cox and took away her gold medal. However, the IOC took no action on the US team victory, which still stands for now. The Olympic body said it is up to the rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations whether to disqualify the US from the gold. In a separate case dating back 12 years, the IOC yesterday reallocated the medals removed from the US men's 4x400 relay team from the Sydney Games because of the admitted doping by the late Antonio Pettigrew. — AP
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Scott takes lead at British Open
Lytham St Annes, July 22 Australian Scott shot a serene 68 in the third round to move clear at the top of the leaderboard on 11 under par, four ahead of Northern Ireland's McDowell and American Brandt Snedeker. Former World Number One Tiger Woods is a further shot back and will bid for his 15th major victory in the company of Snedeker who slumped to an error-strewn 73 on Saturday after flawless opening rounds of 66 and 64. McDowell produced three late birdies to delight the home crowds and give himself a shot at a second major title following his victory in the 2010 U.S. Open. South African Ernie Els and American Zach Johnson will start on five under par, with young Dane Thorbjorn Olesen also in the mix at four under. Scott and McDowell will begin their final rounds with strong winds forecast to add a further twist to what promises to be a thrilling climax to the 141st Open at Lytham. — Reuters |
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Amla’s triple ton propels Proteas
London, July 22
England, who will begin their second innings after the break, trail by 252 runs after Amla hit an undefeated 311, surpassing the previous record of 278 by team mate AB de Villiers. He came to the crease on Friday at 3.07pm and was still there at 3.40pm two days later. Kallis hit 182 not out for his 43rd test hundred and the partnership of 377 with Amla was the highest for the third wicket by any team against England, beating the 363 that Mohammed Yousuf and Younus Khan set at Leeds in 2006. South Africa are now well placed to push for a win as they chase victory in the three-match series that would see them leapfrog England at the top of the world rankings. Skipper Graeme Smith set the tone on Saturday with 131 in his 100th test match. England wilted in the bright sunshine as their bowlers toiled on a lifeless pitch that was still good to bat on and showed scant evidence of deterioration. — Reuters Scoreboard South Africa first innings: Smith b Bresnan 131 Petersen lbw b Anderson 0 Amla not out 311 Kallis not out 182 Extras (b-5, lb-4, w-2, nb-2) 13 Total (Decl, 189 ovrs) 637 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-260 Bowling: Anderson 41-7-116-1, Broad 34-6-118-0, Swann 52-10-151-0, Bresnan 37-2-140-1, Bopara 18-1-78-0, Pietersen 3-0-13-0, Trott 4-0-12-0.
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Ferrari’s Alonso wins German GP
Hockenheim, July 22
He moves 34 points clear of Mark Webber in the title race with 154 points to the Australian's 120. "We'll enjoy the win," said Alonso. "Starting on pole was the key factor because it was difficult to overtake and we were not the fastest but we kept the position." Drawing a parallel with Europe's troubled economic situation, Alonso added: "I don't really know politics, but it is true that the situation is not great in Spain - but a Spanish driver in an Italian car, designed by a Greek man is good to win here." Briton Jenson Button of McLaren, who had proved the potential of his revamped car for a long spell in the race, came home third after being passed by Vettel, who ran wide and off the track, on the penultimate lap. The race stewards announced they were investigating Vettel's passing move, a statement that left the result unconfirmed pending the result of their decision and any chosen sanction. Hulkenberg finishes 9th
Nico Hulkenberg frittered away a strong grid position to finish ninth at his home race while Paul di Resta finished 11th as Sahara Force India returned with just two points from the German Grand Prix, here today. Most of the times the two Force India drivers struggled due to tyre degradation and pace of the car as faster cars overtook them at will, throughout the 67-lap race. Hulkenberg dropped five places and Di Resta two after starting fourth and ninth respectively. The result, though helped Force India narrow the gap with Williams to just one point. Force India now have 46 points. — PTI |
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Reading the Games In retrospect, Vijender Singh’s bronze at Beijing 2008 was worth more than its weight in gold as it transformed Indian boxing, generating untold largesse for one and all and prompting the launch of professional fight leagues. And, but for that momentous feat, 'the untold story of boxing in India' may never have been told. We must be grateful to seasoned sports scribe Shamya Dasgupta for doing just that in the cleverly titled "Bhiwani Junction" after enjoying a ringside view of the fisticuffs as a correspondent for the print and visual media for over a decade. The book goes much beyond the boundary of its title — the bustling township in Haryana which has emerged as the epicentre of Indian boxing, and the exploits of its most famous son who put it on the national map. It also chronicles the Manipuri contribution to the Indian boxing revolution, while also being an account of the sport's evolution in India from colonial times and its feuding power centres. It's good to see that past champions from Buddy D'Souza to more contemporary heroes like Rajkumar Sangwan, Gurcharan Singh and Dingko Singh get their due. And, but for the book, P L Roy, the "father of Indian boxing", would have remained an unsung hero.
— By Mario Rodrigues
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From Bhiwani to Beijing: The rise of Indian boxers My last trip to the NIS was just before the 2008 Olympic Games. Almost four years have passed. Not just any four years, but the four most important years in Indian boxing. Work aside, I had been looking forward to this trip because it's always more fun to listen to stuff you can't actually put in print. ******************* I don't recognize all the boxers here; there are many new names and faces. Devendro Singh is familiar. As are his fellow Manipuris, Suranjoy Singh and Nanao Singh. The giant Dinesh Kumar is difficult to miss. There's light welterweight Commonwealth Games champion Manoj Kumar. Other familiar faces under woolen caps and raised jacket collars include Jai Bhagwan and Paramjit Samota. The rest I can't identify. At least not right now. Not in the dark. Not through drooping eyelids, sleep deprived and somewhat hungry and frozen to the bone. More than the boxers themselves, I am struck by their clothes, their caps, their shoes, kitbags, water sippers. I first visited NIS Patiala in 2000 and from then down to 2008, things largely remained the same. The overall appearance of the boxers-the crème de la crème of Indian sport, remember-was somewhat shabby. No Nike or Adidas; basic locally manufactured track suits with 'India' or 'Services' or the name of the state emblazoned on the back were par for the course and kitbags were usually hand- me-downs or cheap imitations of well-known brands. Sippers? What are those? The times have certainly changed. And the man who made it happen, Vijender, is missing in action at the moment. I call him, he doesn't answer. I wait. He returns the call an hour later, apologizes, says he has a bad back but will definitely come and meet us. Not right now, but as soon as he can. The Vijender Effect is all around us though. 'Show me one boxer in Patiala who doesn't have a top quality kit,' boxing boss Abhay Singh Chautala had boasted when we met earlier. He's right. And remember, not all the boxers here are fighting in the world championships or the Olympics yet; they are just aspiring to. ******************* The boys here are out of a Hollywood fight club. Hoods, jumpers, boxing jackets, anoraks; swooshes and suchlike noises coming on their feet. As they walk into the hall, they could almost be Mark Wahlberg or Christian Bale going out for training in The Fighter. They don't quite have the same swagger, but then, this is real life. Real life at 6.30 a.m. in freezing Patiala. For a comparison, let's pick any two boxers a generation apart but with similar backgrounds. Let's say Manipuri-origin Services boxers Ngangim Dingko Singh and Thokchom Nanao Singh-Dingko and Nanao. Their contrasting stories should give you a good idea of how far things have moved along in Patiala since 2000. Dingko, back in 1998, won gold at the Asian Games in Bangkok. A combination of injuries, indiscipline and sheer bad luck meant that Dingko, despite being India's best boxer of the period, would never better that Asian Games performance. But he was acknowledged to be the best boxer in Asia in his category. I've seen him dressed in a sweaty T-shirt, old trainers on his feet, and carrying a polythene packet for his spare shirt. This was in 2000, two years after his Asian glory and quite some time before he was discarded as yesterday's news. On the other hand, Nanao failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and the twenty-one-year-old's biggest achievements to date have been winning gold at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games and the 2008 Youth World Championships. But check him out in his red Everlast vest with black skivvies underneath, branded shoulder bag, spanking new floaters (that he has slipped on after practice) and you realize that even the second rung of Indian boxers today have a fairly good deal. And this is Nanao, self-confessedly poor, who 'travelled from home to practice riding a broken bicycle in Manipur' and 'wasn't always sure about lunch and dinner'. Pretty much everything he has is because of boxing.
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It’s Els’ Open, Lahiri is 31st Lytham, July 22 Earlier, Jeev Milkha Singh also shot a final round 73 to finished at 10-over 290 in tied 69th place. Meanwhile, South African Ernie Els won the British Open by one stroke from Adam Scott on Sunday after the Australian suffered an extraordinary late collapse on an incident-packed final day. World number 13 Scott, chasing his first win in one of the big four events, started the last round with a four-shot lead and seemed to be cruising to victory as he maintained that cushion with six holes to play. Lahiri's finish put him alongside Jason Dufner and Rickie Fowler and better than former Open champions Padraig Harrington, Paul Lawrie, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, ranked second and third in the world respectively. "I won't be intimidated anymore. If I can come here and hold my ground, I can hold it in any event and any field looking into the future," said Lahiri. "Its been a great experience and I am glad I came here in May with my coach, Vijay Divecha. It gave me a chance to look and prepare for this course.” — Agencies
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Hockenheim, July 22
At London 2012, eight Indian boxers will be in action — India’s largest boxing contingent. Out of the eight, the seven men — Vijender Singh (75kg), L. Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81 kg) — will try their luck against the world's best. A billion people back home are hoping that they will add pride and medals to India’s campaign. 
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“I know it is a huge sporting extravaganza and only best among the sports persons are here and the competition is bound to be tough” Soniya said here in an interaction. Asked if the surroundings intimidate her, she shot back, “Why should I get intimidated, I qualified through Asian championship held in Korea in April. If I did not get overawed there where I had to make the cut, why should I be worried here? God has given me the chance to represent my country, I finished fourth with a career-best 175 in Korea. The field was very strong but I had confidence in myself.”
London, July 22
Driving with perfect judgement and great speed, the 30-year-old Spaniard started from pole position and dominated the 67-lap race in consummate style as he came home 3.7 seconds ahead of local hero, defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. It was Alonso's third win this year after his triumphs in Malaysia and at the European Grand Prix, and it was also the 22nd consecutive race in which he had finished in the points for Ferrari.
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And that can only happen if you're something of a tourist and not in your usual avatar of a journalist (it particularly helps that there is no television camera hovering some distance away, no mike to record indiscretions).