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prime concern: sports Can Punjab boxers regain their punch? By Prabhjot Singh In 2010 when the Punjab Government came out with its sports policy, it decided to focus on 10 sports — athletics, boxing, basketball, football, hockey, kabaddi, shooting, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling — for regaining its lost glory as the sports arm of the country. It is enshrined in the policy that the sports department would organise Punjab Gold Cup championships for men in these sports by providing Rs 25 lakh per sport, both for the conduct of the championships as well as the disbursement of the prize money.
last word:
kamal nath |
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Punjab once enjoyed a place of pride in boxing; now it is struggling to gain a toehold. The state sports policy of 2010 was introduced to bring about a perceptible change, but its tilt towards kabaddi has been unmistakable, with funds for other sports being either diverted or denied.
Can Punjab boxers regain their punch? By Prabhjot Singh
In 2010 when the Punjab Government came out with its sports policy, it decided to focus on 10 sports — athletics, boxing, basketball, football, hockey, kabaddi, shooting, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling — for regaining its lost glory as the sports arm of the country. It is enshrined in the policy that the sports department would organise Punjab Gold Cup championships for men in these sports by providing Rs 25 lakh per sport, both for the conduct of the championships as well as the disbursement of the prize money. These sports are to get precedence in creation of sports infrastructure, admission to educational institutions and reservation of jobs in the public sector. The state gold championships are, however, yet to be announced for the year that is coming to a close. Kabaddi is the only sport that is getting full support of the government. Funds meant for other sports are either being diverted or denied. Contractors providing diet to 3,000-odd young boys and girls training at various sports academies have not been paid a penny since the start of the new financial year. Most of the coaches on contract have been waiting for their salaries for months together. To top it all, the sports department has not purchased any sports equipment this year for use by trainees at various academies. Hence, results in sports other than kabaddi and hockey are far from inspiring. Has the performance of sportspersons of Punjab started showing up on the national horizon after the promulgation of the policy on October 2, 2010? Though sports officials and critics are unanimous in maintaining that two years is too short a time to reap benefits of a new policy in the public sector, not much progress has been made for achieving excellence in many sports on the priority list. Hockey may be an exception in which Punjab has already won national championship titles, both in senior and juniors sections, this year. Representation of Punjab players in national teams has witnessed a phenomenal increase. Punjab can no more boast of boxers like Kaur Singh, Jaipal Singh and Gurcharan Singh. While Kaur Singh, the most decorated boxer in India, has superannuated, Jaipal Singh, another well-known boxer, is the Secretary of the Punjab Amateur Boxing Association. Kaur Singh had been awarded the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award. Punjab has not produced a single boxer after Gurcharan Singh to don the national colours in the Olympics. Amandeep Singh, representing the Services, won a bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Haryana has the likes of Vijender Kumar, Paramjit Samota, Jai Bhagwan and Dinesh Kumar, besides others, and Punjab has none to match them. Like Haryana, boxing is patronised by boys and girls from middle and lower middle class families in Punjab. While Haryana has 34 coaching centres recognised by the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), Punjab has none. The IABF, however, has now been suspended by the world body for alleged “illegal practices” adopted during the last elections of the Indian body held in Patiala. It will take sometime for the IABF to become operational again after it holds fresh elections. Though the Punjab Sports Department has 19 coaching centres for promising boxers (six for girls alone), a majority of these are in a deplorable state. It is only Patiala that has two rings under tin sheds that are frequented by 300-odd boys, including some from affluent families, for regular training. In Sunam, once the hub of boxing, only a portion of an indoor hall is dedicated to the boxing arena. The rest is in a shambles. The hall has neither any ventilation nor proper illumination and cleanliness facilities. Girls also train at this centre. If Shaheed Udham Singh College in Sunam used to be the Punjabi University champion, AS College, Khanna, would bag the honours in the Panjab Univerisity inter-college championship. The situation is no more the same. Participation in inter-college championships in all universities of Punjab has been on the decline. Charanjit Singh, who runs the Patiala centre, has over 300 trainees. He has been able to persuade Dr Jaspal Singh, Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor, for another ring. It is from his centre that some of the trainees who represented the country in the just-concluded Asian Youth Boxing Championship ended on the honours list. “I have such a large number of boxing enthusiasts that I need more rings and coaches to assist me. We also need some modern training equipment, including computer scoring system, leather punching bags and warm-up arena, to prepare trainees for international events. Charanjit Singh has refused to accept promotion as District Sports Officer, Fazilka, because of his passion for boxing. He has been associated with the Indian boxing team as a coach with chief coach and Dronacharya Award winner GS Sandhu. When Vijendra Kumar went to the London Olympics, the shadow boxer for his training was sent from Patiala. Charanjit Singh claims credit for producing several international boxers, both seniors and juniors, including Kanwarpreet, Kuldip, Parminder, Lakhwinder, Manjit, Amritpreet and Zora Singh. “We need someone at the top to watch the interest of Punjab boxers. The boxing federation is now dominated by the Chautalas,” he says. Only 16 of his trainees get daily diet under the new scheme of the sports department. Poor diet, equipment and lack of adequate ultramodern training facilities are preventing young pugilists from blossoming into national stars, coaches say. The coaching centre at Khanna has some promising boxers. Arun Kumar from this centre has been a member of the Indian junior team, says Sohan Lal, a coach at the centre. Khanna has no boxing ring. An indigenous platform has been designed as a makeshift arrangement. Labh Singh, a coach from the Sports Authority of India, is also posted at the centre which claims credit for 10-time national champion Harpal Singh, Zorawar Singh (settled in Germany), Hemant Kumar, Tejpal Singh, Ajit Bakshi, Amandeep Bhatti, Jaspal Singh and coach Sohan Lal. Before his transfer to Patiala, Charanjit Singh had established this centre. Some hope Narinder Singh, coach at Sunam, feels Punjab suffered because of the shortage of coaches in the state. Sunam had been the cradle of Punjab boxing as eminent pugilists like Chetram Singh, Jagmail Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Hardeep Singh, Maheshinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Maghar Singh, Darshan Singh, Dhana Ram, JS Bhullar, Ishar Singh and Karam Singh trained here before they emerged on the national horizon. Now the centre has Gurwinder Singh and Bikky Singh who have won laurels in junior nationals. Among others who can bring back the glory to Sunam are Gagandeep Singh, Munish Sharma, Gurpreet Singh, Sagardeep Singh and Ranbir Singh, says Narinder Singh. “Most trainees are poor and can’t afford gloves, shoes or protective gear,” he says, appreciating the services rendered by former internationals Pritpal Singh (Navy) and Darshan Singh (PSEB) in grooming the youngsters. If coaches, trainees and their parents are to be believed, Punjab is ready for its comeback. All it needs is a little support, both from the government and its sports loving people.
I have such a large number of boxing enthusiasts that I need more rings and coaches to assist me. We also need modern training equipment and leather punching bags to prepare trainees for international
events.
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last word: kamal nath
It was seen as a personal victory for the 66-year-old gum-chewing Kamal Nath, who managed to persuade key ally DMK, as well as arch rivals and supporting parties, Samajwadi Party and the BSP, not to go along with the Opposition. It was to his credit that BSP chief Mayawati voted with the government. He apparently sent her copies of BJP leader Sushma Swaraj's speech in which she had taunted the SP and BSP for bailing out the government because of the pending CBI probes. Quickfixer He worked behind the scenes to hammer out a compromise on the controversial SC/ST quota in the promotion Bill, even though the SP and BSP were locked in a confrontation. Just when it appeared the winter session would be washed out, an understanding was reached. Those who have followed his political career are not surprised he was entrusted with the difficult task of handling parliamentary affairs. His colleagues grudgingly accept he is an ideal choice because of the excellent ties he has forged with leaders from across the political spectrum, including Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee. The fact that he grew up in Kolkata, where his family has extensive business interests in electronics, aviation and the hospitality sector, and speaks fluent Bangla also helped in bonding with the Left. “He is good at sizing up people and has a knack of dealing with them. He believes in persuasion and manages to get his way,” remarks a Congress leader. Unlike his colleagues whose Bills were blocked in Parliament, Kamal Nath never had such problems. When a Bill was stuck in the Lok Sabha during his stint as Surface Transport Minister, he invited all MPs from Madhya Pradesh to his office to discuss pending road projects in their constituencies. He laid out the red carpet for them and was in the foyer to receive BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, an MP from Madhya Pradesh. She subsequently gave clearance to the projects in her constituency Vidisha. She also ensured the passage of his Bill. When a BSP MP wanted to challenge his decision to extend the lease of the Delhi Golf Club, he was stopped from going to the court by Mayawati. No wonder, an opposition leader was recently heard gushing: “Kamal Nath bahut kamal ka aadmi hai”. Kamal Nath has evolved into a quintessential Congressman, having perfected the art of dispensing patronage. And yet he remains a businessman at heart, weighing every favour doled out in terms of what he will get in return. When he invited BJP leaders for a meeting to discuss the FDI logjam, his opening line was: “What will you do for us if we agree to a vote on the debate?” Energy burst A bundle of nervous energy, Kamal Nath is impossible to pin down. Employing corporate style management techniques, he excels in time management. His mind would be wandering to his next appointments even as he is conversing with a person while drumming his fingers impatiently on the desk. It is a tribute to his staying power that after beginning his career as a Sanjay Gandhi acolyte, he moved quickly to become a Rajiv Gandhi camp follower. He was inducted as minister for the first time in Narasimha Rao's government and held important positions in the Congress under Sonia Gandhi's presidentship. He was a natural choice for a key portfolio when the UPA government was formed in 2004. It was Sanjay Gandhi, his classmate from Doon School, who persuaded him to contest the Lok Sabha election in 1980 from the tribal Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh. He has represented it for eight terms since. His grasp over contentious issues was first evident during his tenure as Environment Minister during the Rao regime, when he emerged as a chief spokesperson for developing countries at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. He scored an encore as the Commerce Minister when he did some tough talking during WTO negotiations. Living king size His ministerial responsibilities took him across the world, giving him an opportunity to make powerful friends but he never once lost sight of Chhindwara. Organised, he has an extensive establishment entrusted with the specific responsibility of looking after the needs of the constituency, whether it is attending to roads or airlifting an ailing child to hospital. He lords over the place like a virtual sultan, living in a plush bungalow with its own airfield, ensuring that his copy of The International Herald Tribune is flown in whenever he is in Chhindwara. He exercises control over his constituency, nothing escapes his eagle eye. As Chief Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh would remark jokingly that Chhindwara remained outside his purview. When the BJP tried to dethrone him in 2004 by fielding a strong candidate against him, he said: “Please tell the candidate not to waste his money. He should realise every jeep owner in the constituency is known to me.” Kamal Nath has also had his share of controversies. When he helped lift a ban on the export of non-basmati rice as Commerce Minister, it was alleged that PSUs outsourced the job to private companies for big profits. He also figured in the “infamous” Radia tapes and was indicted by the Nanavati Commission for his role in the 1984 riots but escaped punishment for lack of evidence. He maintained a low-profile after he was moved to the Urban Development Ministry in 2011. |
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The situation in other sports is deplorable. It is not only in wrestling that Punjab has lost its supremacy to Haryana, the situation is no better in boxing. Haryana has not only reached, but also surpassed the supremacy Punjab boxers once enjoyed on the national and international horizons. 
What’s gone wrong
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