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ranjitjat
July 14th, 2008, 10:36 PM
The boys from Bhiwani


The Beijing Olympics are still three weeks away, but an air of excitement already hangs thick in Bhiwani, a backwater district of Haryana.

If animated conversation in its languid chaupals and dusty playfields is any indication, this sandy corner of Jatland is savouring the prospect of having provided four out of five boxers to the Indian boxing contingent headed to Beijing. It's a feat no other Indian town can boast of.

Having made the cut for Beijing, the foursome—Akhil Kumar, Vijender Singh, Jitender and Dinesh—are now the poster boys for Bhiwani, a new powerhouse of Indian boxing.

The town's previous record came at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when three of four Indian boxers were Bhiwani natives.

The Bhiwani quartet to Beijing is led by Akhil, 27, a 54-kg boxer, declared the 'Best boxer in Asia' in the Olympic qualifier and tipped as India's best medal bet for the 2008 Games.

Vijender Singh, 22, a middleweight (75 kg) boxer enters Beijing on a high, having beaten the Athens gold medallist Bakhtiyar Artigev in a pre-Olympic event.

Light heavyweight Dinesh Kumar, 20, is an 81-kg southpaw who knocked out both his opponents to win his ticket to Beijing. The junior-most in the team, flyweight (51kg) Jitender Kumar, 20, is both swift of foot and quick-witted.

Coach Jagdish Singh with his trainees at Bhiwani
Coach Jagdish Singh with his trainees at Bhiwani
The only non-Bhiwani boxer in the team is featherweight Akhilesh Kumar Lakra from the Services, a ratio that reflects a shift in the balance of power in Indian boxing, which has moved away from the dominance of Services fighters.

Chief National Boxing Coach G.S. Sandhu calls Bhiwani the "Cuba of India", a title the town has earned in the last decade by doggedly nurturing a deep-seated passion for boxing among its rural youth.

The sport is now the new leitmotif for a place previously known for its textile industry and two home-grown chief ministers.

No other sport, not even cricket, fires the imagination of Bhiwani's boys. On any given day, there are around 1,000 boys training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI)-run centre and half a dozen private coaching institutes that attract aspirants from the surrounding countryside.

The credit for turning Bhiwani into an elite boxing centre largely goes to an intrepid SAI coach Jagdish Singh, who has been at the centre since 1996.

A former national boxer, Jagdish has "produced boxers like a factory", says his boss and SAI (North Zone) Director S.S. Roy. Using his eye for talent and unconventional training methods, Jagdish has built a formidable centre and a reputation for himself.

"I made a clean break from the 'we-know-all' attitude of most coaches," he says, alert to the importance of updating his own learning.

On overseas trips, Jagdish acquired videos of boxing champions and assessed them, filming the best bouts of the top boxers in whichever event he was at.

He met the legendary Hungarian boxer László Papp, who won gold medals in three successive Olympics, and tracked down his videos as part of his study into the 'sweet science'.

De-constructing international fights, Jagdish says has helped his Indians fighters refine their tactics and also gain confidence. Between them, Jagdish reckons, his trainees have won 161 international and 312 national medals.

The Haryana foursome: (L-R) Dinesh Kumar, Akhil Kumar, Vijender Singh, Jitender Kumar
The Haryana foursome: (L-R) Dinesh Kumar, Akhil Kumar, Vijender Singh, Jitender Kumar
Roy tries to explain the coach's obsession with boxing: "One has to be either super motivated or just mad."

Local advocate Joginder Singh, whose 14-year-old-nephew has recently joined the boxing academy, jokes that it is unlikely Jagdish would know which class his own children are studying in.

In last eight years, the number of aspirant fighters in Bhiwani has increased more than 10-fold. The SAI centre has doubled its intake, with boxing forming major component of its 135-odd trainees.

Private academies have mushroomed too and SAI coach Dev Raj says, "Fierce competition between the local coaches and training academies has led to making Bhiwani a centre of boxing excellence."

Local boxing centres enroll the boys between 10 and 14 years of age, who are expected to perform at national level within three years.

Most of the inductees are born-tough rural lads who think nothing of the harsh training and rudimentary facilities they may have to face.

They all have examples of iron-willed boxers around them, like Parvinder Singh who went from a jaw fracture in 2002 to fighting for India in the Commonwealth Games in 2006.

atamjeet78
July 19th, 2008, 09:07 PM
Namaskar Uncleji
Great News..........
Bhiwani is doing a great job directing the energy of young men of the region in right direction. We need sports acadamies in each and every district of haryana producing quality sportsmen and the new generation can look for role models in them.

cooljat
July 19th, 2008, 10:56 PM
Jats are always ahead in anything specially Sports, Army & Farming!
I wish these promising boxers all the very best for olumpics! :)

I'm dead sure this time Jat athletes will win many gold medals !

Ameen!


Rock on
Jit

sohana
July 20th, 2008, 10:22 AM
its so gud 2hear dat..wish al of them a vry gud luk..

renuchoudhary
July 20th, 2008, 11:39 AM
Dudee sir, we all prey to almighty that, this time , hard work done by them will be fruitful and Indian squd will come back with few medals.

ranjitjat
July 22nd, 2008, 09:05 PM
Namaskar Uncleji
Great News..........
Bhiwani is doing a great job directing the energy of young men of the region in right direction. We need sports acadamies in each and every district of haryana producing quality sportsmen and the new generation can look for role models in them.
Bhiwani- India aur Uncle ko yad rakhne ky liye dhanyvad
Dear Atamjeet,Cool Jit Boy, Sohana and Renu
Namaskar.
Thank you all for your support and best wishes.
We hope and pray India will win more Gold Medals this time.

ranjitjat
July 23rd, 2008, 09:52 PM
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080723/haryana.htm


High Court
Olympian withdraws case against Joginder, Kharab


Chandigarh, July 22
International boxer and India's medal hope in the forthcoming Beijing Olympics Bijender today appeared personally before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for withdrawing the petition he had filed against the appointment of cricketer Joginder Sharma and Indian women hockey team captain Mamta Kharab. The two were appointed directly as DSPs in the Haryana police last year.

The appointment was made under the sports quota. Challenging the move, petitioner Bijender had alleged the state administration of ignoring deserving sportspersons, including those who had won laurels and medals for the country in international events. He had prayed for quashing the appointments and for a fair selection of the candidates. As the matter came up for hearing, the Division Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Jitendra Kumar Chauhan wanted the petitioner to establish his identity and to call his counsel. The petitioner, on the other hand, submitted he no longer retained the counsel. He also submitted an affidavit in support of his prayer to withdraw the writ petition. Taking note of his contention, the Bench dismissed the writ petition as withdrawn.

gsvijay1
July 25th, 2008, 12:21 PM
Some more info from bbc website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7482661.stm

All the best to Vijender for Olympics!!!!!